THE  BEGINNINGS  OF 
SAN    FRANCISCO 


The 

Beginnings  of  San  Francisco 


from  the 


Expedition  of  Anza, 


City  Charter  of  April  15,   i^; 

.ziOKAJi'l.  aaTJAW  xd  nwsiQ 


0 
By 

ZoETH  Skinner  Eldredge 


SAN    FRANCISCO 

tOETH    8.    ELDREDGE 

1912 


><i-»«.--^-i.-j>S!-->iJ-:,i'4i;>,.^! 


THE  VISION  OF  ANZA 
Drawn  by  Walter  Francis. 


The 

Beginnings  of  San  Francisco 

from  the 

Expedition  of  Anza,  1774 

to  the 

City  Charter  of  April  15,  1850 

With  Biographical  and  Other  Notes 


By 
ZoETH  Skinner  Eldredge 


SAN    FRANCISCO 

ZOETH    S.    ELDREDGE 

I9I3 


Copyright,  191 2 

By  Zoeth  S.  Eldredge 

San  Francisco 


Printed  by 

John  C.  Rankin  Company 

54  &  56  Dey  Street 

New  York 


v.  1 


VOLUME  I. 


Contents 
Introduction 
Chapters  I.  to  XII. 
Notes  I  to  32 


>1 


CONTENTS 


Introduction 21 

Chapter  I. 

THE  DISCOVERY  OF  THE  BAY  OF  SAN  FRANCISCO 

1769 

The  Portola  Expedition — Sergeant  Ortega — The  Deer  Hunters — 
Ortega's  Progress  Interrupted — The  Bay  from  Telegraph  Hill 31 

Chapter  II. 

EXPLORATION  OF  THE  BAY  OF  SAN  FRANCISCO 

1770-1775 

A  New  Province  of  Spain — Expedition  of  Pages — Llano  de  Los 
Robles — Rio  de  San  Francisco — Expedition  of  Rivera — Camp  of 
the  First  Expedition — ^The  Palo  Alto — Canada  de  San  Andres — 
Cross  on  Point  Lobos — Sea  Expedition  of  Don  Bruno  de  Heceta — 
Lieutenant  Ayala — The  San  Carlos  Enters  San  Francisco  Bay — Isla 
de  Los  Angeles — Isla  de  Alcatraces — Bahia  Redonda — Puerto 
Dulce — Laguna  de  la  Merced 39 

Chapter  III. 

EL  CAMINO  DEL  DIABLO 

1774 

Juan  Bautista  de  Anza — His  First  Expedition — Across  the  Papa- 
gueria — Sonoyta — Camino  del  Diablo — Las  Tinajas  Altas — The 
Colorado  River — Palraa,  Chief  of  the  Yumas — Anza  Reaches  the 
End  of  the  Known  Trail 55 

Chapter  IV. 

THE  PASSAGE  OF  THE  COLORADO  DESERT 

1774 

Crossing  the  Rio  Colorado — The  Yuma  Indians — March  Down 
the  Colorado  River — Laguna  de  Santa  Olalla — Anza  Essays  the 
Desert  Without  Guides — Lost  in  the  Sand-hills — Narrow  Escape 
of  the  Expedition — Retreat  to  the  River — Soldiers  on  Foot — 
Palma  Welcomes  their  Return — The  Passage  Accomplished 69 


lo        The  Beginnings  of  San  Francisco 
CHAPTER  V. 

EL  CAMINO  REAL 

1774 

Over  the  San  Jacinto  Mountains — The  Royal  Pass  of  San  Carlos — 
Down  the  San  Jacinto  River — Arrival  at  San  Gabriel — Up  the 
Coast — San  Luis  Obispo — Mission  of  San  Antonio — Down  the  Salinas 
— Arrival  at  Monterey — Joy  at  the  Presidio  and  Mission — Starts  on 
His  Return — Meets  Father  Junipero — Fertility  of  California — Rejoic- 
ing of  the  Yumas — Passage  of  the  Colorado — Up  the  Rio  Gila — 
Peace  Among  the  Tribes — Reaches  Tucson — Arrival  at  Tubac 85 

CHAPTER  VI. 

THE  FOUNDATION  OF  SAN  FRANCISCO 

1775-1776 

Anza  Promoted — Authorized  to  Raise  Company  for  San  Francisco — 
A  Great  Expedition — Pedro  Font  Named  for  Chaplain — The  Start 
from  Horcasitas — Caiion  of  San  Ignacio — The  Start  from  Tubac — 
Reach  the  Gila — Sickness — Across  the  Desert  of  the  Gila  Bend — 
Down  the  Gila — Welcomed  by  Captain  Palma — Palma  Desires 
Missions  on  the  Colorado — The  Chief  Decorated — Passage  of  the  Rio 
Colorado — Sufferings  in  the  Desert — Passage  of  the  Cordillera — 
Heavy  Loss  of  Cattle — Pass  of  San  Carlos — Distress  at  Snow — Pas- 
sage of  the  Rio  de  Santa  Ana — Arrival  at  San  Gabriel — Revolt  at  San 
Diego — Rivera  Asks  for  Loan  of  Troops — To  San  Diego — The 
March  to  Monterey  Resumed — San  Buenaventura — Mescaltitan — 
La  Laguna  (Santa  Barbara) — San  Luis  Obispo — The  Salinas  Valley — 
San  Antonio — Arrival  at  Monterey — Father  Junipero — Sudden  Ill- 
ness of  Anza — Departs  for  Peninsula  of  San  Francisco — San  Benito — 
Rio  del  Pajaro — Las  Llages — Santa  Clara  Valley — San  Francisquito — 
Camp  at  Mountain  Lake — Lobos  Creek — Font's  Description  of  the 
Bay — Anza  Selects  Site  for  Fort  and  Presidio — Arroyo  de  los  Dolores, 
Site  for  Mission — Rio  de  Guadalupe — San  Pablo  Bay — Carquinez 
Strait — Suisun  Bay — San  Joaquin  River — Anza  Sees  the  Sierra 
Nevada — Puerto  Dulce — Return  to  Monterey — A  Sad  Day  at  the 
Presidio — Anza  Starts  on  His  Return  to  Tubac — Meets  Rivera — 
Discourtesy  of  Rivera — Perilous  Crossing  of  the  Rio  Colorado — A 
Long  Swim — Across  the  Papagueria — San  Miguel  Horcasitas — 
Anza's  Character — Moraga  Takes  the  Expedition  to  San  Francisco — 
Founding  of  the  Presidio  and  Mission 99 


Contents  ii 


CHAPTER  VII. 


COLONIZATION 

1769-1836 

The  Mission  Scheme  of  Colonization — Description  of  the  Missions — 
Their  Great  Wealth — Secularization  Their  Destiny — The  Presidial 
Soldiers — Settlers  Enlisted — Founding  of  Los  Angeles — Villa  de 
Branciforte — San  Jose  de  Guadalupe — Land  Grants  to  Settlers — 
Artisans  Imported — Convict  Settlers — Costanso's  Report — Military 
Establishment — Mission  Lands — Decree  of  Scularization — Governor 
Figueroa's  Reglamento 155 

CHAPTER  VIII. 

SECULARIZATION 

Denunciation  of  the  Secularization — De  Mofras — Wilkes — Bryant — 
Robinson — Government  Control — Spain  Announces  the  End  for 
which  Missions  were  Established,  and  their  Fulfilment — Seculariza- 
tion No  Wrong  to  the  Church — Looting  Begun — Hijar-Padres 
Scheme — Figueroa  Interferes — Missionaries  Slaughter  Cattle — Lands 
and  Property  Distributed  to  Indians — Death  of  Figueroa — Adminis- 
tration of  Alvarado — Secularization  a  Benefit  to  California — ^The 
Era  of  Missions  closed 171 

CHAPTER  IX. 

THE  GOLDEN  AGE 

The  California  of  the  Spaniards — A  Chain  of  Missions — Private 
Ranchos  in  1830 — Families  of  Soldiers — The  Good  Eatables  of 
California — The  Remarkable  Virtues  of  El  Polin — Origin  of  the 
Mission  Grape — Founders  of  California  Families — The  Handsome 
Hijo  del  Pais — ^The  Courage  of  the  Caballero — Beautiful  Women — 
Attempt  to  Establish  Schools — Sola  and  Echeandea  Interest  Them- 
selves in  Education  of  the  People — No  Trade  in  California  in  Eight- 
eenth Century — American  Ships  Visit  California — Trade  in  Fur 
Animals — Free  Licences  to  Take  Otter  and  Seals — Lima  Traders — 
Trade  in  Hides  and  Tallow — Boston  Ships — Floating  Shops — 
Smuggling — Richard  H.  Dana,  Jr. — Honest  Trade  Cannot  Compete 
with  the  Smugglers — First  Land  Grant — Reglamento  of  1773 — Colo- 
nists Encouraged — Land  Grants  to  Foreigners — Foreigners  Required 
to  Become  Mexican  Citizens — Limit  to  Size  of  Grants — Method 
Followed  in  Obtaining  Grants — American  Immigrants — Comments 


12        The  Beginnings  of  San  Francisco 

of  Bartlett,  Simpson,  and  Others — Daughters  of  Bandini,  Argiiello, 
De  la  Guerra,  Carrillo,  Vallejo,  etc. — Marriage  of  Americans  with 
California's  Daughters — Don  Tomas  Yorba — Costume  of  a  Cali- 
fornia Don — Women's  Dress — Race  Improvement  in  California — 
Courtesy  Universal — A  Californian's  Word — A  Guaranty  from 
Agustin  Machado — No  Jail  in  San  Francisco — California  Hospitality.  185 

CHAPTER  X. 

EDUCATION,  TRADE,  LAND  GRANTS 

The  Soldier  Schoolmasters — Limited  Facilities  for  Learning — Borica's 
Schools — Land  Commission — Its  Operation — Californians  Lose  Their 
Lands 207 

CHAPTER  XL 

SPANISH  ADMINISTRATION 
I 769-1 846 

A  Military  Government — The  Presidio — The  Small  Military  Estab- 
lishment— ^The  Russians  in  California — Captain  Bouchard — A  Terri- 
tory of  the  Republic — Revolt  of  Neophytes — Vallejo — Alvarado — 
Isaac  Graham — Expulsion  of  Gutierrez — Alvarado  Made  Governor — 
California  a  Department — Forts  Abandoned — Vallejo  Asks  to  be 
Relieved  of  Command — Arrivals  of  Armed  Bands  of  Foreigners — 
Micheltorena  and  His  Cholos — Commodore  Jones  Takes  Monterey — 
Jones  Apologizes — Micheltorena  Driven  Out 223 

CHAPTER  XH. 

THE  FOREIGNERS  (LOS  EXTRANJEROS) 
1795-1846 

The  Boston  Nation — O'Cain  Refused  Permission  to  Settle — ^John 
Gilroy — ^Thomas  Doak — Number  of  Foreigners  in  1820 — Richardson 
— Livermore — First  Trappers  from  United  States — ^Jedediah  Smith — 
The  Pattie  Party — First  Organized  Overland  Expedition — Search 
for  the  Humboldt  River — A  Desperate  Journey — John  Bidwell — 
Large  Emigration  from  United  States — Mexico  Orders  that  no 
Foreigners  be  Permitted  to  Enter  California — John  A.  Sutter — 
Sutter's  Fort — Alvarado  Arrests  Foreigners — Americans  Take  Part 
in  Political  Revolution — Action  of  Bear  Flag  Party — Fremont 
and  His  Acts — Mormon  Pilgrimage — Sloat  Ends  Bear  Flag  War — 
Kearny  in  Command 243 


Contents  13 

CHAPTER  XIII. 

THE  COMING  OF  THE  ARGONAUTS 

1849-1850 

Early  Gold  Discoveries — Discovery  by  Marshall  on  American  Fork — 
Mason's  Report — Rush  to  the  Mines — Desertions  of  Soldiers  and 
Sailors — Excitement  in  San  Francisco — Military  Force  in  California — 
Difficulties  of  Civil  Administration — General  Smith  Arrives — Pacific 
Mail — First  Steamer — Sufferings  of  Immigrants — The  Overland 
Route — Suffering  in  the  Desert — Starvation,  Cholera,  Scurvy — The 
Lassen  Route — ^The  Carson  Route — ^Twenty  Thousand  Immigrants 
in  the  Desert — Army  Relief — Immigration  of  1850 — More  Suffer- 
ing— Havoc  Among  Immigrants — Fifteen  Thousand  Starving — Im- 
migrants Reach  Sacramento  Valley — Aid  by  Miners — Land  Troubles 
— Plan  of  Rob  Roy — Halleck's  Report — Mission  Property  Seized  by 
Immigrants — Mason  Interferes — Foreigners  Driven  from  Mines — 
Lawlessness — General  Riley  Calls  for  Delegates  to  Constitutional 
Convention — Prominent  Men  of  the  Convention — Constitution 
Formed — Election  of  State  Government — Riley  Resigns  to  New 
Government  the  Administration  of  Civil  Affairs — Recklessness  of 
the  Miners — Mingling  of  Classes — Advantages  of  Association 443 

CHAPTER  XIV. 

EL  PARAJE  DE  YERBA  BUENA 

1792-1839 

The  Anchorage  of  Yerba  Buena  Cove — George  Vancouver — First 
Structure  at  Yerba  Buena — Vancouver  Entertained — Kotzebue — 
Morrell — Beechey — Dana — Richardson's  Tent — The  Vallejo  Line — 
Establishment  of  Ayuntamiento — Town  Laid  out  by  Richardson — 
Leese  Builds  First  House — Store  on  Beach — Nathan  Spear — Kent 
Hall — Hinckley   495 

CHAPTER  XV. 

THE  VILLAGE  OF  YERBA  BUENA 
1839-1846 

Survey  by  Vioget — First  Map  of  the  Village — O'Farrell's  Survey — 
Richardson's  Temescal — Fuller  —  Thompson  —  Davis  —  Hinckley's 
Bridge  at  Lagoon  on  Montgomery  Street — Ridley — Brown — Ports- 


14        The  Beginnings  of  San  Francisco 

mouth  House — Leese  Sells  to  Hudson's  Bay  Company — Visit  of 
Simpson — Death  of  Rae — Hudson's  Bay  Company  Sells  to  Melius 
and  Howard — ^Juana  Briones — Sherreback — LeidesdorflF — City  Hotel 
— First  Steamer  on  Bay — Custom  House — The  Bad  Taste  of  Ellis' 
Whisky — W.  D.  M.  Howard — First  Brick  Building — Noe — Guerrero 
— George  Hyde  Succeeds  Bryant — Arrival  of  Stevenson's  Regiment — 
Personnel  of  Officers — First  Bank  in  San  Francisco — The  Russ 
Family — Election  of  Town  Council — Ratification  of  Peace 511 

CHAPTER  XVI. 

THE  CONQUEST 

I 846-1 847 

The  Portsmouth  at  San  Francisco — Montgomery  Raises  the  Flag — 
Militia  Company  Formed — Fort  Montgomery — Arrival  of  the  Brook- 
lin — A  Night  Alarm — Bartlett  Appointed  Alcade — Visit  of  Stockton 
— Capture  of  Alcalde  Bartlett  by  the  Enemy — The  Battle  of  Santa 
Clara — Bryant  Succeeds  Bartlett — George  Hyde — Arrival  of  Steven- 
son's Regiment — Personnel — Translation  of  Geographical  Names. . .  539 

CHAPTER  XVn. 

SAN  FRANCISCO 

1847-1850 

Relief  of  Donner  Party — Fourth  of  July — Population — Sale  of  Lots — 
Peter  Smith  Sales — Limantour  Claim — Santillan  Grant — Beach  and 
Water  Lots — Landing  Place — First  Wharf — Central  Wharf — Other 
Wharves — Building  on  Piles — Tehama  House — Steinberger's  Beef 
Speculation — Vessels  in  Harbor — Over  importation  of  Goods — Im- 
prisoned Vessels — The  Niantic — Abandoned  Ships — Talbot  H.  Green 
— Ward  and  Smith — The  "New  York  Store" — The  First  Post- 
master— Parker — DeWitt  and  Harrison — Hotels  of  San  Francisco — 
St.  Francis — Ward  House — Tehama — Union — Oriental — First  News- 
paper— Schools — Churches — Doctor  Fourgeaud — Forty  Thousand 
Immigrants  in  San  Francisco — Happy  Valley — Pleasant  Valley — 
Spring  Valley — Saint  Ann's  Valley — Early  Construction — Fire — Fire 
Department  Organized — Improvement  in  Buildings — The  Plague  of 
Rats — Dreadful  Streets — People  Drowned  in  Mud  of  Montgomery 
Street — Town  Full  of  Thieves  and  Gamblers — The  Hounds — Hall 
McAllister — Legislative  Assembly — General  Riley  Pronounces  the 
Body  an  Unlawful  Organization — Orders  Election  of  Ayuntamiento — 


Contents  15 

Prefect  Horace  Hawes — John  W.  Geary — Prison  Brig  Euphemia — 
Scarcity  of  Coin — Gold  Dust  as  Circulating  Medium — Profits  of 
Merchants — Prices  of  Commodities — Forced  Sales  of  Cargoes — Fall 
in  Prices — Rents — Real  Estate  Prices — Potrero  Laid  Out — A  Preach- 
er's Dilemma — General  Smith  Reports  Against  San  Francisco — 
Removes  Depot  to  Benicia — General  Prosperity  of  City — Improve- 
ment in  Dress  and  Manners — The  Gamblers — Washerwomen's 
Lagoon — Honest  Harry  Meiggs — Excursion  to  Old  Spanish  Fort — 
Road  to  Mission — Dignity  of  Labor — Drinking  and  Gambling — 
Interest  in  Better  Things — Growth  of  Civic  Pride  and  Establishment 
of  Social  Order — The  Charter  of  1850 563 


NOTES 

1.  San  Carlos  Borromeo 269 

2.  Punta  de  los  Reyes 272 

3.  Jose  Francisco  Ortega 274 

4.  San  Buenaventura 276 

5.  Don  Pedro  Pages 277 

6.  The  San  Carlos,  alias  El  Toison  de  Oro 279 

7.  Arizona 283 

8.  Francisco  Eusebio  Kino 284 

9.  Las  Tinajas  Altas 286 

10.  Captain  Feo 288 

11.  The  Royal  Pass  of  San  Carlos 289 

12.  Soldiers  of  the  Expedition 291 

13.  Bac — Tubac — Tucson 307 

14.  Destruction  of  the  Missions  of  the  Colorado 309 

15.  The  Colorado  Desert 315 

16.  Rio  de  Santa  Ana 318 

17.  Santa  Barbara 320 

18.  Mescaltitan 321 

19.  Junipero  Serra 322 

20.  The  Climate  of  San  Francisco 324 

21.  Los  Dolores 327 

22.  San  Jose  Guadalupe 331 

23.  Don  Fernando  Javier  de  Rivera  y  Moncada 334 

24.  The  Colorado  River 336 

25.  Lieutenant  Charles  Wilkes 339 

26.  Bucareli 343 

27.  Concepcion  Arguello 344 

28.  Mariano  Guadalupe  Vallejo 346 

29.  Pio  Pico 358 

30.  John  A.  Sutter 365 

31.  John  C.  Fremont 374 

32.  The  Revolt  of  the  Californians  and  the  Affair  at  San  Pedro 428 

33.  The  Donner  Party 627 

34.  The  Overland  Route 661 

35.  The  Military  Governors  of  California 668 

36.  Jacob  Primer  Leese 700 

37.  Stockton  and  the  Conquest  of  California 702 

38.  Selim  E.  Woodworth 707 

39.  Sam  Brannan 709 

40.  The  Claimi  of  Captain  Phelps 712 

16 


APPENDIXES 

A.  The  Presidio  of  San  Francisco 717 

B.  The  Streets  of  San  Francisco 732 

C.  Bucareli  to  Rivera 749 

D.  The  Murder  of  Bcrreyesa  and  the  De  Haros 753 

E.  Bibliography 758 


INDEX 760 


17 


INTRODUCTION 


*' Bells  of  the  Past,  whose  long  forgotten  music 

Still  fills  the  wide  expanse, 
Tingeing  the  sober  twilight  of  the  Present 

With  the  color  of  romance.''^ 

THE  years  following  the  discovery  of  America 
witnessed  scenes  of  marvellous  adventure 
and  the  new  continent  became  a  region  of 
wonder  and  mystery.  No  tale  was  too  extrav- 
agant for  belief  and  by  every  ship  from  the  New 
World  the  store  of  marvels  was  increased.  The  lure  of 
gold  and  the  glories  of  conquest  drew  adventurers  from 
all  quarters  of  the  kingdom  of  Spain.  The  needy  gen- 
tleman relied  on  his  sword  to  carve  out  for  him  a  for- 
tune, if  not  a  principality,  and  his  humble  follower 
saw  opportunity  open  before  him  and  the  possibility 
of  his  being  made  a  gentleman.  Ponce  de  Leon 
gave  his  life  to  the  search  for  gold  and  for  the  foun- 
tain of  youth.  The  exploits  of  Cortes  filled  Spain 
with  amazement.  Panfilo  de  Narvaez  perished 
miserably  in  an  endeavor  to  conquer  Florida,  and 
the  waters  of  the  Alississippi  closed  over  the  ambi- 
tions and  hopes  of  De  Soto. 

The  bull  of  Pope  Alexander  VI.  divided  the  New 
World  between  Spain  and  Portugal,  giving  to  Spain 
all  west  of  a  line  drawn,  by  agreement  between  the 
two  powers,  from  north  to  south  three  hundred 
and  seventy  leagues  west  of  the  Cape  Verde  islands — 
about  longitude  43°  15'  west  from  Greenwich.  The 
English  claimed  the  right  to  trade  with  all  the  Span- 


22        The  Beginnings  of  San  Francisco 

ish  possessions  by  virtue  of  a  treaty  of  trade  and 
amity  made  in  the  reign  of  Charles  V.,  but  Spain 
disputed  this  interpretation  of  the  treaty  and  main- 
tained that  there  was  "no  peace  beyond  the  line"; 
i.  e.  the  line  of  Pope  Alexander,  a  maxim  which  the 
English  freebooters  turned  against  the  Spaniards 
and  preyed  upon  and  plundered  their  ships  and 
their  possessions  in  the  West  Indies. 

For  more  than  two  hundred  years  California  re- 
mained unexplored.  It  did  not  hold  out  the  promise 
of  glory  and  riches  such  as  fired  the  imagination  of 
the  adventurers  of  the  sixteenth  century  and  it  was 
not  until  the  latter  part  of  the  eighteenth  century 
that  the  king  of  Spain,  warned  by  the  openly  expressed 
hostility  of  the  English  cabinet  towards  the  Bourbons 
as  well  as  by  the  steady  advance  of  the  Russians 
on  the  Northwestern  coast  of  America,  realized  that 
military  necessity  demanded  the  occupation  of  long 
neglected  California  and  the  establishment  of  an  out- 
post to  show  to  the  world  that  Spain  would  protect 
her  domain  from  invasion  and  insult.  Though  in 
her  decadence  Spain  still  commanded  the  services 
of  warriors  and  statesmen. 

This  work  is  not  a  history  of  California,  but  in 
accounting  for  the  existence  of  San  Francisco  it  has 
been  found  necessary  to  give  some  brief  statements 
concerning  the  settlement  of  the  country,  the  charac- 
ter of  its  people,  and  the  occurrences  which  pre- 
ceded and  led  to  the  rise  of  the  modern  city.  The 
romance  with  which  California  history  abounds  adds 


Introduction  23 

much  to  its  attractiveness,  but  however  pleasing 
tales  of  wonders  and  of  marvelous  adventure  may  be 
to  those  Californians  whose  state  pride  is  gratified 
by  having  an  interesting  and  romantic  past  added 
to  the  glories  of  climate,  scenery,  and  other  attrac- 
tions, such  tales  should  not  be  permitted  to  usurp  the 
place  or  exclude  matter  of  historical  importance. 
The  romance  of  California  history  has  been  some- 
what overdone  by  writers  who,  in  their  pursuit  of 
striking  and  romantic  incident,  have  failed  to  under- 
stand and  appreciate  the  true  significance  of  events, 
and  have,  in  consequence,  spread  before  the  people 
a  vast  amount  of  misinformation  and  have  raised 
to  the  rank  of  heroes  men  of  very  ordinary  attain- 
ments, or  those  whose  service  to  the  state  was  of 
doubtful  honor,  while  overlooking  men  whose  charac- 
ter and  achievement  entitle  them  to  the  highest 
place  in  the  respect  and  esteem  of  the  people.  It 
will  be  my  duty  and  pleasure  to  remedy  this  mis- 
conception of  history  so  far  as  lies  in  my  power. 
This  work  is  the  result  of  a  study  of  original  docu- 
ments and  the  statements  of  contemporary  writers 
and  of  actors  in  the  events  described;  and  it  is  none 
the  less  interesting  because  true. 

The  passing  of  the  great  Spanish  families  closes  a 
period  of  California  history.  The  Spanish  era  is  a 
memory  of  the  past.  Travelers  tell  us  of  a  people  of 
Arcadian  simplicity,  of  grace  and  dignity,  who  re- 
ceived the  stranger  with  courtesy  and  entertained 
him  with  a  hospitality  that  knew  no  bounds.     Of 


24        The  Beginnings  of  San  Francisco 

these  people,  who  came  into  an  untamed  country 
and  conquered  it  for  civilization,  the  California  of 
to-day  knows  but  little.  Few  are  the  citizens  of 
San  Francisco  who  have  even  heard  the  name  of 
Juan  Bautista  de  Anza,  its  founder.  Yet  he  was  a 
gallant  soldier  and  he  executed  with  courage,  energy, 
and  fidelity  the  difficult  task  entrusted  to  him  by 
his  king,  of  bringing  across  deserts  and  over  high 
sierras  the  settlers  for  a  city  whose  destiny  neither 
king  nor  captain  could  imagine.  In  making  my 
countrymen  acquainted  with  this  accomplished  sol- 
dier and  gentleman  I  feel  that  I  am  doing  them  a 
service. 

After  the  American  occupation  San  Francisco  grew 
rapidly,  and  with  the  immigration  following  the  gold 
discovery  it  suddenly  became  a  large  city,  with  all  a 
city's  needs  and  perplexities.  The  thousands  thus 
thrown  together  had  no  thought  for  charters 
or  constitutions.  They  came  only  for  gold,  and  then 
for  a  quick  return  home.  The  disorders  to  be 
looked  for  in  such  a  community,  formed  of  people 
gathered  from  all  parts  of  the  world,  made  necessary 
some  form  of  organization  for  the  protection  of  life 
and  property.  The  Americans  were  largely  in  the 
majority  and  with  their  executive  instinct  for  self- 
government,  order  was  gradually  evolved  from  chaos. 

Had  Anza  been  gifted  with  prophetic  vision  as  he 
stood  on  the  summit  of  the  presidio  hills,  what  a 
strange  sight  would  meet  his  eyes!  He  would  see 
spread  before  him,  to  the  east  and  south,  a  great  and 


Introduction  25 

beautiful  city;  under  the  shelter  of  the  hills  he  would 
see  a  great  military  camp,  and  floating  above  it  a 
strange  flag, — the  flag  of  a  nation  he  knew  not  of: 
a  nation  which  at  the  time  of  his  journey  was  in  the 
throes  of  parturition;  beyond,  he  would  see  upon 
the  waters  of  the  bay  the  traffic  of  a  great  seaport, 
while  upon  the  contra  costa  he  would  see  other  cities 
lining  the  shores  for  many  miles.  A  mighty  change 
has  taken  place  since  he  looked  upon  the  solitude  of 
San  Francisco  bay.  Plumed  cavalier  and  bare- 
footed friar  are  alike  gone.  The  power  of  Spain  has 
departed  and  the  youngest  of  the  great  nations  of 
the  earth  possesses  the  land. 

San  Francisco, 
December  8,  191 1. 


ILLUSTRATIONS 

1.  The  Vision  of  Anza Frontispiece 

2.  Ayala's  Map  of  San  Francisco  Bay Facing  page  50 

3.  The  Cementerio S8 

4.  Sand-hills  of  the  Colorado  Desert "  "  76 

5.  Mud  Volcanoes  of  the  Colorado  Desert "  "  80 

6.  Carrizo  Creek,  Colorado  Desert "  "  82 

7.  A  Soldado  de  Cuera "  "  lOO 

8.  Routes  of  Anza's  Expeditions "  "  102 

9.  The  Trail  on  the  Gila "  "  106 

10.  The  Route  Across  the  Colorado  Desert "  "  1 14 

11.  The  Palo  Alto.     San  Francisquito  Creek "  "  130 

12.  Font's  Map  of  Entrance  to  San  Francisco  Bay "  "  132 

13.  Font's  Map  of  Explorations,  Monterey  to  San  Francisco. .  "  "  140 

14.  Mission  of  San  Francisco  de  Asis "  '  150 

15.  California  Indians "  "  224 

16.  Port  of  Monterey,  1846 "  "  228 

17.  Port  of  San  Diego,  1840 "  "  230 

18.  Vallejo  Reviewing  His  Troops  at  Sonoma "  "  232 

19.  The  San  Carlos  Entering  the  Bay  of  San  Francisco,  1775  .  "  "  280 

20.  Las  Tinajas  Altas.     One  of  the  Upper  Tanks "  "  286 

21.  Las  Tinajas  Altas.     The  Lower  Tank "  "  286 

22.  Laguna  de  Manantial "  "  33° 

23.  Mariano  Guadalupe  Vallejo "  "  346 

24.  Yerba  Buena  Cove  and  Island "  "  496 

25.  Vancouver's  Map  of  the  Entrance  to  San  Francisco  Bay.  .  "  "  498 

26.  Richardson's  Plan  of  Yerba  Buena,  1835 "  "  504 

27.  San  Francisco  in  1837 "  "  506 

28.  Jacob  P.  Leese "  "  508 

29.  Rosalia  Leese "  "  508 

30.  Vioget's  Survey  of  Yerba  Buena,  1839 "  "  512 

31.  The  Alcalde  Map  of  San  Francisco,  1847 "  "  514 

32.  San  Francisco  in  1846 "  "  526 

27 


28         The  Beginnings  of  San  Francisco 

33.  Custom  House,  San  Francisco Facing  page  530 

34.  The  Limantour  Disefio "  "  568 

35.  The  Limantour  Claim "  "  570 

36.  New  York  Store,  Montgomery  Street "  "  582 

37.  San  Francisco  in  1849 "  "  596 

38.  Prison  Brig  Euphemia  and  Ship  Apollo "  "  606 

39.  The  Overland  Route,  Missouri  River  to  South  Pass "  "  662 

40.  The  Overland  Route,  South  Pass  to  California "  "  662 

41.  Brigadier-General  Stephen  W.  Kearny "  "  670 

42.  San  Pascual.     The  Charge  of  the  Caballeros "  "  678 

43.  Colonel  Richard  B.  Mason "  "  688 

44.  Brigadier-General  Bennet  Riley "  "  692 

45.  Entrance  to  Bay  of  San  Francisco  in  1852 "  "  720 

46.  Presidio  of  San  Francisco  in  1820 "  "  722 

47.  The  Military  Reservation  in  1847 "  "  724 


Chapter  I. 

THE  DISCOVERY  OF  THE 
BAY  OF  SAN  FRANCISCO 
1769 


IN  the  beginning  of  the  year  1769,  Don  Jose  de 
Galvez,  visitador  general  of  Spain  and  member 
of  the  council  of  the  Indies,  sent  an  expedition 
under  command  of  Don  Caspar  de  Portola  to 
take  possession  of  and  fortify  the  ports  of  San  Diego 
and  Monterey  in  Alta  California.  The  expedition 
consisted  of  two  sea  and  two  land  divisions  with  the 
rendezvous  at  San  Diego  Bay.  By  the  first  of 
July,  1769,  the  divisions  were  assembled  at  San  Diego 
and  on  the  14th,  the  march  to  Monterey  began.  On 
the  last  day  of  September,  the  command  reached 
Monterey  Bay,  but  failing  to  recognize  it  from  the 
description  furnished  them,  passed  on  and  discovered 
the  bay  of  San  Francisco.  The  expedition  then 
returned  to  San  Diego,  and  in  the  spring  of  1770, 
another  attempt  was  made  and  Monterey  was 
reached  on  May  24th.  This  time  they  recognized 
the  bay  and  on  June  3,  1770,  the  presidio  and  mis- 
sion of  San  Carlos  Borromeo  de  Monterey'  were 
founded  with  appropriate  ceremonies. 

In  a  previous  work  I  stated  that  Jose  Francisco 
Ortega,  sergeant  and  pathfinder  of  the  expedition, 
was  the  discoverer  of  the  Golden  Gate  and  of  the 
Straits  of  Carquines.*  As  commander  of  the  ex- 
pedition, Portola  is  entitled  to  the  credit  for  what- 
ever the  expedition  accomplished,  but  it  is  nowhere 
claimed  that  Don  Caspar  was  the  first  white  man  to 
look  upon  the  waters  of  the  great  bay.     From  the 


*  The  March  of  Portola  and  the  Discovery  of  the  Bay  of  San  Francisco. 

31 


32        The  Beginnings  of  San  Francisco 

summit  of  the  Montara  mountains,  Portola  sighted 
the  high  headland  of  Point  Reyes  and  recognized 
what  was  then  called  the  Port  of  San  Francisco, 
afterwards  known  as  the  ensenada  or  gulf  of  the 
Farallones.  He  descended  the  mountain  on  the 
north  and  camped  at  its  foot,  in  the  San  Pedro 
Valley,  while  he  sent  his  scouts  forward  to  explore 
the  coast  up  to  Point  Reyes%  giving  them  three  days 
for  the  reconnaissance.  The  scouts  returned  late  at 
night  of  the  third  day  and  reported  that  they  could 
not  reach  Point  Reyes  because  some  immense  esteros 
[esteros  inmensos)  intervened  which  extended  far 
into  the  land.  The  day  following  the  departure  of 
the  scouts,  some  soldiers  received  permission  to  go 
into  the  mountains  to  hunt  for  deer.  These  return- 
ing after  nightfall,  reported  that  on  the  other  side 
of  the  mountain  there  was  a  great  estero  or  arm  of 
the  sea. 

The  question  of  actual  discovery  of  the  bay  lies 
between  the  party  of  hunters  and  the  scouts.  Let 
us  first  consider  the  claims  of  the  hunters.  Costanso, 
engineer  officer,  cartographer,  and  diarist  of  the 
expedition,  says  in  his  diary,  under  date  of  November 
2d,  that  the  hunters  set  out  in  the  morning  after 
mass  and  did  not  return  until  after  nightfall.  They 
reported  that  from  the  mountains  north  of  the  camp 
they  had  seen  an  immense  arm  of  the  sea  or  estuary 
which  thrust  itself  into  the  land  as  far  as  the  eye 
could  reach,  inclining  to  the  southeast  {que  se  metia 
por  la  tierra  adentro  cuanto  alcanzaba  la  vista  tirando 


The  Deer  Hunters  33 

fara  el  sudeste).  These  hunters  of  the  deer,  whose 
names  are  not  given,  probably  saw  the  bay  of  San 
Francisco  about  noon  of  Thursday,  November  2, 1 769. 

Under  date  of  Wednesday,  November  i,  1769, 
Father  Crespi,  priest  and  diarist  of  the  expedition, 
writes:  "In  this  little  valley  of  the  Punta  de  las 
Almejas  del  Angel  de  la  Guarda,  we  celebrated 
mass,  *  *  *  and  after  this  the  sergeant  (Ortega) 
with  his  party  started  for  a  three  days'  exploration." 

His  entry  for  the  next  day,  November  2d,  notes 
the  report  of  the  hunters  concerning  the  great  estero, 
and  says:  "We  conjectured  also  from  said  news 
that  the  explorers  would  not  be  able  to  reach  the 
opposite  shore  which  is  seen  to  the  north  [the  Marin 
coast]  and  would  therefore  be  unable  to  inspect  the 
point  which  we  believed  to  be  that  of  Los  Reyes, 
because  it  was  impossible  within  the  period  of  three 
days  to  make  the  circuit  necessary  to  go  around  the 
estero  whose  extension  was  so  magnified  to  us  by 
the  hunters." 

Costanso,  moreover,  under  date  of  November  I, 
says:  "Our  comandante  ordered  the  explorers  to 
examine  the  country  to  a  certain  distance,  allowing 
them  three  days  for  such  examination."  He  also 
says  in  his  entry  of  the  next  day,  that  in  view  of  the 
report  of  the  hunters  the  explorers  could  not  in 
three  days  "descabezar"  (behead)  an  estero  of  such 
great  extent  as  that  described. 

From  San  Pedro  Valley,  Crespi's  "Vallecito  de 
la  Punta  de  las  Almejas  del  Angel  de  la  Guarda," 


34         The  Beginnings  of  San  Francisco 

to  Point  Lobos  is,  as  the  crow  flies,  thirteen  miles. 
From  Point  Lobos  to  Telegraph  hill*  is  six  miles. 
According  to  Crespi,  Ortega  started  immediately 
after  mass — say  at  eight  o'clock  in  the  morning  of 
Wednesday,  November  ist.  He  would  travel  at 
the  rate  of  one  league  per  hour,  at  least,  and  five 
hours  of  travel  would  bring  him  to  Point  Lobos 
where  his  further  progress  towards  Point  Reyes 
would  be  arrested  by  the  waters  of  the  Golden  Gate. 
He  had  been  given  three  days'  time  to  explore 
the  coast  up  to  Punta  de  los  Reyes,  say  twenty 
leagues  distant.  Here  in  half  a  day's  journey, 
with  only  five  of  the  twenty  leagues  accomplished, 
he  had  come  to  the  end  of  the  land,  with  the  objec- 
tive point  of  his  order  still  in  the  distance  before 
him.  What  was  he  to  do.^*  Return  to  the  com- 
mander and  report  that  he  could  not  get  through.'' 
Certainly  not  until  he  had  satisfied  himself  that 
the  terms  of  the  order  were  impossible  of  execution 
without  boats  to  carry  him  over  the  water.  Ortega 
was  thirty-five  years  old  and  had  served  for  fourteen 
years  as  a  soldier  on  the  frontier;  he  was  the  explorer 
and  pathfinder  of  the  expedition  and  upon  his 
experience,  sagacity,  and  courage  his  commander 
depended.  He  had  exhausted  but  one-half  of  the 
first  of  his  three  days.  Perhaps  it  was  possible 
for  him  to  descabezar  this  body  of  water  that  impeded 
his  progress?  It  was  clearly  his  duty  to  try,  and 
I  do  not  think  there  can  be  any  doubt  as  to  what 

*  Loma  Alta,  the  high  hill  north  of  Yerba  Buena  cove. 


First  Sight  of  the  Bay  35 

Ortega  would  do.  The  language  of  both  Costanso 
and  Crespi  indicates  that  Ortega  connected  the 
water  which  had  barred  his  progress  with  the  estero 
seen  by  the  hunters.  A  ride  of  half  or  three- 
quarters  of  an  hour  would  bring  him  to  the  mesa, 
back  of  Fort  Point,  whence  the  central  and  northern 
portions  of  the  bay  and  the  Alameda  and  Contra 
Costa  shores  would  be  in  full  view,  while  a  further 
ride  of  three-quarters  of  an  hour  would  carry  him 
to  Telegraph  hill,  from  the  summit  of  which  the 
greater  part  of  the  bay  of  San  Francisco  would 
spread  before  him.  On  this  theory  then,  Ortega 
would,  by  two  or  half  past  two  o'clock  of  the  after- 
noon of  November  ist,  have  seen  that  part  of  the 
bay  lying  north  of  Yerba  Buena  island,  and  by  or 
before  four  o'clock  the  greater  part  of  the  whole. 

I  am  of  the  opinion  therefore,  that  Jose  Francisco 
Ortega  was  the  actual  discoverer  of  the  bay  of  San 
Francisco,  and  that  he  saw  it  some  twenty  hours 
before  the  hunters  of  the  deer. 

The  second  day  of  Ortega's  expedition  was  prob- 
ably spent  in  exploring  the  shore  of  the  bay  and 
the  third  in  his  return,  by  the  route  of  his  coming, 
to  the  camp  at  San  Pedro.^ 

That  the  commander  realized  the  impossibility 
of  reaching  Punta  de  los  Reyes  by  proceeding  up 
the  ocean  shore  is  shown  by  the  fact  that  the  day 
after  Ortega's  return  he  took  up  his  march  for  the 
south  end  of  San  Francisco  Bay  and  made  an  attempt 
to  reach  Point  Reyes  by  the  contra  costa. 


Chapter  II. 

explokation  of  the 
bay  of  san  francisco 

1770-1775 


PORTOLA  established  the  presidio  and  mission 
of  San  Carlos  Borromeo  de  Monterey,  June  3, 
1770,  and  dispatched  a  messenger  to  the  City 
of  Mexico  to  the  Marques  de  Croix,  Viceroy  of  New- 
Spain,  announcing  the  addition  of  a  new  province  to 
the  realms  of  His  Most  Catholic  Majesty,  Don  Carlos 
III.  For  more  than  two  hundred  years  Spain  had 
claimed  the  Pacific  coast  of  North  America  up  to  forty- 
two  degrees  but  had  done  nothing  to  maintain  her  right 
by  settlement.  Now,  in  the  foundation  of  Monterey, 
Alta  California  was  brought  under  the  flag  of  Spain 
and  all  nations  were  notified  that  she  would  protect 
her  land  from  invasion  and  insult.  The  news  of  Por- 
tola's  success  was  received  with  joy  and  steps  were 
at  once  taken  to  found  on  the  shores  of  the  great 
bay  so  recently  discovered  an  establishment  which, 
it  was  thought,  would  develop  into  a  great  com- 
mercial city.  Portola  had  been  ordered  to  establish 
three  missions:  one  at  San  Diego,  one  at  Monterey, 
and  one  at  some  intermediate  point,  to  be  named 
for  the  good  doctor  serafico,  San  Buenaventura.'* 
It  was  now  resolved  to  found  five  more  missions  in 
the  new  province  and  the  guardian  of  the  college 
of  San  Fernando  was  asked  to  furnish  ten  additional 
missionaries.  The  five  missions  proposed  were  San 
Gabriel,  San  Luis  Obispo,  San  Antonio,  San  Fran- 
cisco, and  Santa  Clara. 

On  November  12,  1770,  the  viceroy  instructed  Don 
Pedro  Fages,  comandante  of  California,  to  explore 

39 


40         The  Beginnings  of  San  Francisco 

the  port  of  San  Francisco  for  the  purpose  of  estab- 
lishing a  presidio  and  mission  there,  since  a  place 
so  important  ought  not  to  remain  exposed  to  foreign 
occupation.  This  order  was  received  by  Fages  some 
six  months  later.  Fages  had  but  nineteen  men  at 
Monterey,  while  at  San  Diego,  Rivera  had  twenty- 
two.  This  was  the  entire  military  force  in  Cali- 
fornia. Two  missions:  San  Diego  and  Monterey, 
had  been  founded,  but  the  establishment  of  San 
Buenaventura  had  been  delayed  by  lack  of  troops. 
Rivera  was  ordered  to  send  a  portion  of  his  force  to 
Fages  in  order  that  the  latter  might  make  the  recon- 
naissance of  San  Francisco,  but  the  Indians  at  San 
Diego  were  manifesting  a  hostile  disposition  and 
Rivera  would  not  divide  his  force.  So  it  was  not 
until  March  1772  that  Fages  found  himself  able 
to  obey  the  order  to  explore  the  port  of  San  Fran- 
cisco.* On  the  22d  of  March  1772,  Fages  left  the 
presidio  of  Monterey  with  a  guard  of  twelve  soldiers. 
Father  Juan  Crespi,  two  servants,  and  a  pack  train, 
and  taking  a  northeasterly  course  camped  the  first 
night  on  the  bank  of  the  Salinas  river.  The  next 
morning  they  crossed  the  plains  of  Santa  Delfina 
(Salinas  valley),  passed  over  the  Gavilan  mountains 
by  the  canon  of  Gavilan  creek,  and  descended  into 
the  San  Benito  valley,  camping  on  the  bank  of  the 
Arroyo  de  San  Benito  on  the  21st,  the  day  of  St. 
Benedict,  giving  the  stream  the  name  it  now  bears. 


*  Fages  had  made  a  brief  trip  to  the  bay  of  San  Francisco  in  November,  1770, 
and  explored  the  contra  costa  to  the  Carquines  straits. 


Expedition  of  Faces  41 

The  beautiful  valley  they  called  San  Pascual  Bailon. 
The  next  day  they  crossed  the  Pajaro  river  and 
entered  the  San  Bernardino  valley,  naming  it  for 
Saint  Bernardine  of  Siena,  and  camped  for  the  night 
on  an  arroyo  which  they  called  Las  Llagas  de  Nuestro 
Padre  San  Francisco— The  Wounds  of  Our  Father 
St.  Francis.  Ancient  San  Bernardino  is  now  a  part 
of  the  Santa  Clara  valley,  but  the  Arroyo  de  Las 
Llagas  still  retains  the  name  Fages  gave  it.  The 
next  day  they  passed  into  the  upper  Santa  Clara 
valley,  then  called  the  Llano  de  Los  Robles — the 
Plain  of  the  Oaks — and  keeping  to  the  right  of  the 
great  estero  camped  on  an  arroyo  near  the  south- 
eastern point  of  the  bay.  On  Wednesday  March 
25th,  they  camped  on  San  Leandro  creek,  called 
by  them  San  Salvador  de  Horta.  Thursday  the 
26th  they  were  on  the  site  of  Alameda,  then  covered 
with  a  forest  of  oaks,  and  called  the  San  Antonio 
creek,  Arroyo  del  Bosque — Creek  of  the  Grove. 
Looking  across  to  the  Golden  Gate  they  named  it 
La  Bocana  de  la  Ensenada  de  los  Farallones — The 
Entrance  to  the  Gulf  of  the  Farallones.  On  Friday 
they  looked  from  the  Berkeley  hills  through  the 
Golden  Gate  to  the  broad  Pacific.  The  next  two 
days  they  followed  the  shore  of  San  Pablo  bay, 
hoping  to  get  to  the  high  sierra  they  saw  to  the  north 
of  La  Bocana  and  reach  Point  Reyes  near  which, 
they  believed,  was  the  real  port  they  were  seeking. 
This  they  could  not  do  because  of  an  estero,  quarter 
of   a    league   wide,    deep,    and    impassable   without 


42         The  Beginnings  of  San  Francisco 

boats.  To  the  mountain  of  the  north*  they  gave 
the  name  La  Sierra  de  Nuestro  Padre  San  Francisco, 
as  it  seemed  to  be  the  guardian  of  his  port.  On  the 
opposite  bank  of  that  estero  we  call  Carquines  strait, 
they  saw  many  rancherias  whose  Indians  called  to 
them,  and  seeing  that  the  strangers  were  passing  on, 
crossed  the  strait  on  their  tule  rafts  and  presented  the 
travelers  with  their  wild  eatables. 

Following  up  the  estero,  they  camped  March 
30th  on  an  arroyo  near  the  present  Martinez  and 
the  next  day  passed  on  to  the  site  of  Antioch.  They 
tasted  the  waters  of  Carquines  strait  and  Suisun 
bay  and  found  them  fresh,  then  climbing  the  hills 
they  looked  upon  the  great  valley  with  its  rivers 
dividing  themselves  into  many  branches,  all  of 
which  united  to  form  one  great  river  before  entering 
La  Bahia  Redonda.  To  this  mighty  river  "the 
largest  that  has  been  discovered  in  New  Spain" 
Fages  gave  the  name  of  San  Francisco.  Satisfied 
that  it  was  impossible  to  reach  Point  Reyes  by  this 
route  with  his  present  equipment,  Fages  returned 
to  Monterey  and  made  his  report  to  the  viceroy. ^ 

On  August  17,  1773,  Bucareli  ordered  Rivera, 
who  had  succeeded  Fages,  to  make  a  further  explora- 
tion of  the  port  of  San  Francisco  and  of  the  great 
river  that  emptied  into  it,  and  on  the  23  d  of  Novem- 
ber 1774,  Rivera  with  Father  Palou  and  an  escort 
of  sixteen  soldiers  with  forty  days'  provision,  left 
Monterey   and  took  his  way  to  the  famous   port. 

*  Tamalpais. 


Expedition  of  Rivera  43 

Keeping  to  the  west  of  the  bay  they  found  them- 
selves at  11.30  a.  m.  of  November  28th  on  a  deep 
arroyo  through  which  ran  about  two  hueyes*  of 
water,  its  banks  well  covered  with  poplars,  willows, 
laurels,  and  other  trees,  while  some  hundred  paces 
below  the  ford  stood  a  great  redwood  (madera 
colorada),  seen  for  more  than  a  league  before  reaching 
the  arroyo,  and  which  from  a  distance  looked  like 
a  tower.  They  camped  on  the  north  bank  of  the 
stream  and  believing  it  to  be  a  good  place  for  a 
mission  erected  a  cross  near  the  ford.  Palou  writes 
"In  this  same  place  the  first  expedition  (Portola) 
arrived,  and  was  the  limit  it  reached,  and  where  it 
stopped  the  7,  8,  9,  and  loth  days  of  December,  '69, 
while  the  explorers  were  looking  for  the  port  of 
San  Francisco."  They  were  on  the  Arroyo  de 
San  Francisco,  or  as  it  is  now  called,  the  San  Fran- 
cisquito  creek,  and  the  great  redwood  described  is  the 
famous  -palo  alto  (high  tree)  of  Stanford  University. 
On  March  30th  they  passed  through  the  Caiiada 
de  San  Andres  and  gave  it  that  name,  it  being  the 
day  of  St.  Andrew,  though  it  had  been  previously 
named  by  Portola  the  Canada  de  San  Francisco. 
It  now  belongs  to  the  Spring  Valley  Water  Company 
and  in  it  are  the  company^s  principal  reservoirs. 
On  December  4th,  Rivera  and  Palou  planted  a  cross 
On  Point  Lobos  at  a  place  "that  had  not,  up  to  this 


*  A  Buey  de  Agua  is  the  unit  of  the  old  Mexican  system.  It  is  the  amount 
of  water  that  will  pass  through  an  orifice  one  vara  (2.75  ft.)  square.  I  am  sup- 
plied with  this  definition  by  Mr.  Charles  F.  Lummis  of  Los  Angeles. 


44         The  Beginnings  of  San  Francisco 

time,  been  trodden  by  Spaniard  or  other  Christian," 
and  where  it  could  be  seen  from  the  beach.  The 
weather  was  bad  and  Rivera  returned  to  Monterey 
without  further  exploration. 

In  March  1775  an  expedition  for  exploring  the 
northern  coast  sailed  from  San  Bias  under  command 
of  Don  Bruno  de  Heceta,  consisting  of  the  frigate 
Santiago  in  charge  of  the  commander-in-chief,  the 
packet  boat  San  Carlos  under  Don  Juan  Manuel 
de  Ayala,  lieutenant  of  frigate,  and  the  schooner 
Sonora  under  Don  Juan  Francisco  de  la  Bodega  y 
Cuadra,  lieutenant  of  frigate.  To  Lieutenant  Ayala 
was  assigned  the  survey  of  the  bay  of  San  Francisco, 
while  the  Santiago  and  Sonora  sailed  for  the  north. 
Bodega  discovered  the  bay  that  bears  his  name  and 
Heceta  discovered  the  Columbia  river.  Sailing  with 
the  squadron  was  a  supply  ship,  the  San  Antonio,  under 
Lieutenant  Fernando  Quiros,  bound  for  San  Diego. 

For  forty  days  Ayala  faced  contrary  winds 
steadily  driven  southward  to  latitude  18°  40',  and  it 
was  not  until  June  nth  that  he  reached  Cape  San 
Lucas.  From  now  on  his  progress  was  steady  if 
slow,  and  on  the  29th  he  cast  anchor  in  Monterey 
bay,  loi  days  from  San  Bias.  Here  he  unloaded 
the  cargo  of  stores  brought  for  the  Monterey  presidio, 
made  some  needed  repairs,  took  on  ballast  and  wood 
and  water,  and  prepared  for  the  expedition  to  San 
Francisco  bay.  He  also  constructed  on  the  Rio 
Carmelo,  a  cayuco — a  canoe  or  dugout — from  the 
trunk  of  a  redwood  tree,  to  assist  in  the  survey. 


The  San  Carlos  Enters  the  Bay  45 

On  July  27th  the  San  Carlos  sailed  for  San  Fran- 
cisco bay,  beginning  the  voyage  with  a  novena  to 
their  seraphic  father,  Saint  Francis.  Owing  to 
contrary  winds  progress  was  slow  and  it  was  not 
until  August  5th  that  they  approached  the  entrance 
to  the  port.  At  eight  in  the  morning  of  that  day 
the  launch  was  lowered,  and  Don  Jose  Canizares, 
sailing  master,  with  a  crew  of  ten  men,  was  sent  in 
to  make  a  reconnaissance  and  select  an  anchorage 
for  the  ship.  At  nine  the  tide  was  running  out  so 
strongly  that  the  ship  was  driven  to  sea,  but  at 
eleven  o'clock  the  tide  turned  and  it  drew  near  the 
coast,  the  captain  approaching  the  entrance  with 
caution,  taking  frequent  soundings.  At  sunset  the 
launch  was  seen  coming  from  the  port  but  the  flood 
tide  was  too  strong  and  she  was  forced  back.  Night 
was  now  coming  on;  an  anchorage  must  be  found  and 
the  San  Carlos  stood  in  through  the  unknown 
passage.  Rock  cliffs  lined  the  narrow  strait  and  the 
inrushing  tide  dashing  against  rock  pinnacles  bore 
the  little  ship  onward.  In  mid-channel  a  sixty 
fathom  line  with  a  twenty  pound  lead  failed  to  find 
bottom.  Swiftly  ran  the  tide  and  as  day  darkened 
into  night  the  San  Carlos  sailed  through  the  uncharted 
narrows,  passed  its  inner  portal,  and  opened  the 
Golden  Gate  to  the  commerce  of  the  world.  Skirting 
the  northern  shore,  the  first  ship  cast  anchor  in  the 
waters  of  San  Francisco  bay  at  half  past  ten  o'clock 
on  the  night  of  August  5 ,  1 775 ,  in  twenty- two  fathoms, 
off  what  is  now  Sausalito.^ 


46         The  Beginnings  of  San  Francisco 

At  six  the  next  morning  the  launch  came  across 
from  the  opposite  shore  and  the  mate*  explained 
his  failure  to  come  to  the  ship  when  he  saw  her 
approaching  by  saying  that  the  tide  was  so  strong 
that  it  drove  him  back  in  spite  of  all  his  efforts. 
Richardson's  bay  was  then  explored  by  the  mate 
in  the  launch,  but  was  not  considered  safe  because 
of  the  character  of  its  bottom  and  the  fact  that  it 
was  exposed  to  the  southeast  winds.  Ayala  named 
it  Ensenada  del  Carmelita  because  of  a  rock  in  it 
that  resembled  a  friar  of  that  order.  From  a  ranch- 
eria  in  Richardson's  bay  the  Indians  came,  and  with 
friendly  gestures  invited  the  boat's  crew  to  visit 
them,  but  they,  having  no  orders  to  do  so,  kept  at 
a  distance  from  the  beach,  and  at  nine  o'clock 
returned  to  the  ship.  From  Belvidere  point  the 
Indians  cried  out  to  the  sailors  on  the  ship  who,  hav- 
ing no  interpreter,  could  not  understand  them.  At 
three  o'clock  in  the  afternoon  an  attempt  was  made 
to  move  the  vessel  to  a  safer  anchorage  but  the  tide 
was  running  too  swiftly  and  they  anchored  off  Point 
Tiburon  in  fifteen  fathoms,  dropping  two  anchors 
which  however  did  not  prevent  the  ship  from 
drifting. 

Meanwhile  the  Indians  on  shore  near  the  vessel 
were  keeping  up  their  solicitations  and  on  the  seventh 
the  commander  sent  the  chaplain.  Fray  Vicente 
Santa  Maria,  with  the  mate  and  a  boat's  crew  of 
armed  men,  in  the  launch,  to  pay  them  a  visit.     He 

*  Piloto:  sailing  master,  or  mate. 


IsLA  DE  Los  Angeles  47 

furnished  them  with  beads  and  other  trinkets  for 
the  Indians  and  charged  them  to  take  every  precau- 
tion against  treachery.  They  were  hospitably 
received  by  the  natives  and  entertained  at  their 
rancheria  with  pinole*  bread  made  from  their 
corn  or  seeds,  and  tomales  of  the  same.  They  were 
much  pleased  with  their  reception  and  found  that 
the  Indians  could  repeat  the  Spanish  words  with 
facility. 

Explorations  by  use  of  the  launch  were  continued 
and  on  the  twelfth  they  made  an  examination  of 
the  large  island  near  them  which  they  named  Isla 
de  Los  Angeles.  Here  they  found  good  anchorage, 
and  near  at  hand,  wood  and  water.  Another  island 
near  by  they  named  Isla  de  Alcatraces  because  of 
the  number  of  pelicans  on  it.f  This  was  steep  and 
barren  and  without  shelter,  even  for  a  launch. 

On  the  thirteenth  Ayala  moved  his  ship  to  the 
anchorage  of  Isla  de  Los  Angeles,  or  Angel  island, 
as  it  is  now  called,  which  I  presume  was  Hospital 
Cove  where  the  United  States  Quarantine  station 
now  is.  Here,  protected  from  the  wind  and  the 
strong  currents,  he  made  his  ship  secure  with  anchors 
fore  and  aft,  lowered  the  yards  and  sent  down  the 
top  masts.  This  done  he  sent  the  launch  with 
Cafiizares  and  an  armed  force  of  men  and  provisions 


*  Pinole:  a  meal  made  from  parched  corn  or  acorns. 

t  Bancroft  says  (Hist.  Cal.  i,  p.  702):  "The  name,  'Isla  del  Alcatraz'  is 
used  by  Borica  in  1797.  I  mention  this  fact  because  it  has  often  been  stated 
that  the  original  and  correct  form  was  Alcatraces,  in  the  plural."  Comment 
is  unnecessary.     See  Ayala's  map,  p.  50. 


48         The  Beginnings  of  San  Francisco 

for  eight  days,  to  continue  the  survey  into  San 
Pablo  and  Suisun  bays.  Cafiizares  returned  on  the 
twenty-first  and  the  launch  was  sent  with  fresh 
men  under  the  second  mate,  Juan  Bautista  Aguirre, 
to  look  for  a  party  Rivera  had  promised  to  send  by 
land  from  Monterey,  and,  if  he  failed  to  find  them, 
to  explore  the  southeastern  portion  of  the  bay. 
Aguirre  did  not  find  the  Monterey  expedition  for 
the  good  reason  that  Rivera  had  sent  none,  and  when 
sent  again  on  the  thirty-first,  with  the  cayuco,  he 
found  neither  the  Monterey  expedition  nor  that  of 
Colonel  Anza,  for  which  Ayala  was  looking.*  Mean- 
while on  the  twenty-third  fifteen  Indians  came  off 
to  the  ship  on  two  of  their  tule  rafts  or  canoes  and 
were  taken  on  board,  entertained  and  given  food. 
On  the  twenty-eighth  Cafiizares  resumed  his  explora- 
tion of  San  Pablo  and  Suisun  bays  and  returned 
September  ist.  The  next  few  days  he  spent  in 
surveying  the  southerly  part  of  San  Francisco  bay 
and  in  making  his  report  to  the  commander.  His 
descriptions  of  the  bay  are  excellent  and  the  sound- 
ings shown  on  his  map  compare  with  those  of  the 
Coast  Survey,  allowing  for  the  shallowing  of  the 
last  sixty  years.  San  Pablo  bay  he  calls  Bahia 
Redonda,  though  he  says  it  is  not  round  but  in  the 
shape  of  an  isosceles  triangle.  This  appears  on  his 
map  as  Bahia  de  Nuestra  Sefiora  de  Guadalupe.  He 
visited  an  Indian  rancheria  at  the  entrance  to  Car- 
quines  strait  and  found  the  natives  polite  and  modest, 

*  Anza  did  not  start  from  Tubac  until  October  23d. 


Carquines  Strait  49 

not  disposed  to  beg  although  they  accepted  some 
presents  of  beads  and  old  clothes,  and  responded  by 
giving  the  Spaniards  some  excellent  fish,  pinole,  and 
seeds.  These  Indians  had  rafts  or  canoes  made  of 
tule  and  so  well  constructed  and  woven  that  they 
won  the  admiration  of  the  sailing-master.  Four 
men  in  them  with  double  bladed  oars  could  make 
greater  speed  than  the  launch.  Passing  through 
Carquines  strait,  to  which  he  gives  no  name,  Caiii- 
zares  describes  Southampton  bay  which  he  calls 
Puerto  de  la  Asumpta,  having  examined  it  August 
15th,  the  festival  day  of  the  Assumption  of  the  Vir- 
gin. Suisun  bay  is  described  as  a  large  port  into 
which  some  rivers  come  and  take  the  saltiness  from 
the  water  which  there  becomes  sweet  as  in  a  lake.* 
One  river  coming  from  the  east-northeast  (east — the 
San  Joaquin)  is  about  two  hundred  and  fifty  varas 
wide;  the  other,  which  has  many  branches,  comes 
from  the  northeast  through  tulares  and  swamps,  in 
very  low  land,  and  there  are  but  two  fathoms  of 
water  in  their  channels  and  sand  bars  with  but  half 
a  fathom  at  their  mouths. 

Canizares  also  mentions  another  island,  to  which 
no  name  is  given,  about  two  leagues  to  the  south- 
east of  Angel  island.  This  is  Yerba  Buena.  The 
tide  flats  of  the  Alameda  coast  with  poles  driven 
into  the  mud  for  the  fishing  stations  of  the  Indians; 
the  Presidio  anchorage,  Yerba  Buena  cove.  Mission 
bay  and  Islais   creek  are   all   described,   as  well   as 

*  Font's  "Puerto  Duke." 


50         The  Beginnings  of  San  Francisco 

the  hills  and  groves  of  oak  and  redwood.  A  rancheria 
on  the  Alameda  shore,  seemed  to  be  a  good  place 
for  a  mission,  though  he  only  viewed  the  site  from 
a  distance. 

To  Point  Lobos  was  given  the  name  Punta  del 
Angel  de  la  Garda.  Fort  Point  was  called  Punta 
de  San  Jose.  Lime  Point  was  Punta  de  San  Carlos, 
and  Point  Benito,  Punta  de  Santiago.  Point  San 
Pedro  was  called  Punta  de  Langosta  (Locust  Point), 
Point  Richmond,  Punta  de  San  Antonio,  and  Point 
Avisadero,  Punta  de  Concha.  Mission  bay  was 
named  Ensenada  de  los  Llorones  (The  Weepers) 
because,  it  is  said,  the  sailors  saw  some  Indians 
weeping  on  the  beach.  Islais  creek  was  called 
Estero  Seco;  the  cove  between  Tiburon  and  Belvi- 
dere  was  Ensenada  del  Santo  Evangelio;  Mare  island, 
Isla  Plana,  and  Suisun  bay  Junta  de  los  Quatro 
Evangelistas — ^The  meeting  of  the  four  Evangelists. 
Of  all  the  names  given  by  Ayala  there  only  remain  to 
us  Angel  and  Alcatraz  islands.  Point  San  Jose 
transferred  its  name  to  the  next  point  east,  while 
the  point  to  which  it  was  originally  given  became 
known  as  the  Punta  del  Cantil  Blanco,  the  name 
given    it   by   Anza,  and    is    now  called  Fort  Point. 

On  the  yth  of  September  Ayala  had  completed  his 
survey  and  at  eight  in  the  morning  he  weighed  anchor 
and  leaving  the  shelter  of  Hospital  Cove  sailed  for 
Monterey,  but  the  wind  failing,  the  current  swept 
him  on  to  a  rock  near  Point  Cavallo,  injuring  his 
rudder  and  compelling  him  to  put  into  Horseshoe 


rya»cr 


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AVALA'S  MAP  OF  SAN   FRANCISCO  BAY 


Heceta's  Expedition  51 

bay  for  repairs.  While  thus  detained  he  employed 
the  time  in  examining  the  entrance  to  the  bay.  He 
sailed  on  the  eighteenth  and  arrived  at  Monterey 
the  next  day.  He  had  spent  forty-four  days  in  the 
bay  of  San  Francisco. 

Meanwhile  Don  Bruno  de  Heceta  had  returned  to 
Monterey  from  his  northern  trip  August  29th  and 
learning  that  the  land  expedition  for  San  Francisco 
promised  by  Rivera  had  not  been  sent,  organized  a 
party  to  go  to  the  assistance  of  Ayala  and  help  in  the 
survey  of  the  port.  On  the  14th  of  September  he  set 
out,  with  a  guard  of  nine  soldiers  and  accompanied 
by  Fathers  Palou  and  Campa,  three  sailors,  and  a 
carpenter,  and  carrying  on  a  mule,  a  small  canoe. 
They  followed  the  route  taken  by  Rivera  in  1774, 
and  on  the  twenty-second  arrived  at  the  beach  below 
the  Cliff  House  rocks  where  they  found  the  wreck 
of  Ayala's  cayvco  cast  ashore.  At  the  foot  of  the 
cross  erected  on  the  hill  at  Point  Lobos  by  Rivera 
in  1774,  they  found  letters  from  Padre  Santa  Maria 
directing  them  to  go  a  league  inland  and  light  a 
fire  on  the  beach  to  attract  the  notice  of  the  San 
Carlos  anchored  at  Angel  Island.  When  this  was 
done  and  there  was  no  answer  to  the  signal,  Heceta 
retraced  his  steps  as  far  as  Lake  Merced  where  he 
encamped  September  24th,  the  day  of  Our  Lady  of 
Mercy,  and  gave  to  the  lake  the  name  it  bears  to-day: 
La  Laguna  de  la  Merced.  Concluding  that  the  San 
Carlos  had  finished  her  survey,  Heceta  left  for 
Monterey  where  he  arrived  October  ist. 


Chapter  III. 

EL  CAMINO  DEL  DIABLO* 
1774 


WHILE  Don  Jose  de  Galvez  was  organizing 
the  expedition  for  the  conquest  of  California, 
there  was  in  the  far-off  frontier  presidio  of 
Tubac,  a  gallant  soldier,  Juan  Bautista  de  Anza,  by 
name,  who  manifested  the  liveliest  interest  in  the  un- 
dertaking. He  petitioned  the  visitador-general  for 
permission  to  make  a  journey  overland  from  Sonora 
by  way  of  the  Rios  Gila  and  Colorado  to  meet  the  ex- 
pedition of  Portola  at  Monterey  bay.  He  proposed  to 
pay  the  entire  cost  of  the  journey  and  only  asked  to 
be  allowed  to  take  with  him  twenty  soldiers  whom 
he  himself  should  name.  It  was  represented  that 
with  the  reduction  of  California  a  road  of  communica- 
tion could  be  opened  between  Sonora  and  the  new 
foundations  by  which  the  latter  could  be  succored 
more  surely  and  quickly  than  by  the  uncertain 
sea  voyage.  Anza's  request  was  refused.  The 
visitador-general  did  not  consider  such  an  expedition 
necessary  at  that  time  and  the  opening  of  such  a  road 
was  believed  to  be  extremely  difficult,  if  not  impos- 
sible. Not  only  were  the  two  great  rivers,  the  Gila 
and  the  Colorado,  to  be  crossed,  but  between  them 
and  Sonora  lay  vast,  inhospitable  deserts. f 

The  expedition  led  into  California  by  Portola 
founded  the  presidios  of  Monterey  and  San  Diego, 
and  under  their  protection,  the  missions  San  Diego, 


*  Chapters  iii,  iv,  v  and  vi,  were  originally  published  in  the  Journal  of  American 
History,  Vol.  II,  No.  i  to  Vol.  Ill,  No.  3.  ' 
fPalou:  Noticias,  iii,  154. 


56         The  Beginnings  of  San  Francisco 

Monterey,  San  Antonio,  San  Gabriel,  and  San  Luis 
Obispo.  The  life  of  the  new  establishments  was 
precarious  in  the  extreme.  All  supplies  were  brought 
in  by  sea  from  La  Paz  or  San  Bias,  and  the  ships 
were  sometimes  many  months  on  the  voyage.  The 
only  ships  the  government  had  at  that  time  on  the 
western  coasts  of  New  Spain  were  a  few  small,  poorly 
constructed,  ill  found  boats  built  at  San  Bias  for 
carrying  dispatches  and  supplies  to  the  missions. 
In  addition  to  the  ordinary  perils  of  the  sea,  dread 
scurvy,  that  decimator  of  early  navigators,  made 
the  arrivals  irregular  and  uncertain  and  the  unfor- 
tunate colonists  were  in  constant  danger  of  starva- 
tion. 

Anza  now  renewed  his  request  for  permission  to 
take  an  expedition  overland  to  Monterey,  alleging 
that  by  the  road  he  would  open  supplies  could  be 
taken  to  the  new  colony  in  less  time  and  with  much 
more  certainty  than  by  sea.  Again  he  offered  to 
conduct  an  expedition  at  his  own  expense.  The 
difficulty  of  maintaining  the  new  foundations  caused 
the  viceroy,  Don  Antonio  Bucareli  y  Ursua,  to  lay 
the  matter  before  the  king,  and  while  awaiting  his 
reply  he  consulted  the  president  of  the  California 
missions.  Fray  Junipero  Serra,  to  ascertain  his  views. 
Fray  Junipero  gave  enthusiastic  support  to  the 
application  and  suggested  a  similar  expedition  from 
Santa  Fe,  in  New  Mexico.  The  reply  of  the  king 
not  only  approved  Captain  Anza's  proposal  but 
directed  the  viceroy  to  provide  him  from  the  royal 


Anza's  First  Expedition  57 

treasury  with  all  that  was  necessary  to  make  his 
expedition  a  success.  Anza's  preparations  were  soon 
made  and  on  the  8th  of  January  1774,  he  set  out 
from  Tubac  on  his  long  and  hazardous  journey. 
The  expedition  consisted  of  the  comandante  with  an 
escort  of  twenty  soldiers,  Fray  Juan  Diaz  and  Fray 
Francisco  Garces,  of  the  College  of  Santa  Cruz  de 
Queretero,  the  necessary  guides  and  muleteers, 
thirty-four  persons  in  all,  one  hundred  and  forty 
saddle  and  pack  animals,  and  sixty-five  head  of 
beef  cattle.  Just  as  Anza  was  starting  a  war  party 
of  Apaches  descended  upon  him,  killed  some  of  his 
escort  and  ran  off  a  large  number  of  his  horses. 
Not  having  sufficient  stock  to  replace  these  he  was 
obliged  to  make  a  detour  of  about  one  hundred  and 
twenty-five  miles  southwest  to  the  Piman  pueblos 
of  the  Altar  river  to  get  pack  and  saddle  animals. 
Starting  January  8th  he  was  on  the  9th  at  Aribac 
(Arivaca)  where,  he  says,  the  gold  and  silver  mines 
were  worked  up  to  the  year  1767,  when  they  were 
abandoned  because  of  the  Apaches.  On  the  13th 
he  was  at  Saric,  on  the  Altar  river,  a  place  of  great 
fertility  of  soil  but  one  most  harried  by  Apaches. 
He  notes  that  the  distance  from  Saric  to  Arizona 
or  Las  Bolas  is  seven  or  eight  leagues  to  the  north- 
east.7  On  the  17th  he  was  at  the  presidio  of  Altar 
and  on  the  20th  reached  the  mission  of  La  Purisima 
Concepcion  del  Caborca.  The  only  animals  he  could 
obtain,  however,  were  a  few  worn  out  mules,  and  with 
this   insufficient  equipment  he  left  the   mission   of 


58         The  Beginnings  of  San  Francisco 

Caborca,  January  22d,  crossed  the  Rio  del  Altar, 
and  struck  across  the  forbidding  Papagueria,*  a 
wide  and  desolate  desert  reaching  from  the  Rio  del 
Altar  to  the  junction  of  the  Rios  Gila  and  Colorado. 
In  five  days  of  travel,  moving  as  rapidly  as  he  could 
push  his  decrepit  outfit  he  reached  the  ruined 
mission  of  Sonoitac  on  what  is  now  the  boundary 
line  between  Arizona  and  Sonora.  For  the  next 
two  days  the  route  was  easy  through  the  dry  arroyo 
of  the  Sonoyta  river,  which  is  described  by  Dr.  W.  J 
McGee  as  a  channel  broad  enough  for  the  Ohio  and 
deep  enough  for  the  Schuylkill  but  dust-dry  from 
bank  to  bank.  A  march  of  twenty-three  miles 
brought  the  expedition  to  the  sink  of  the  Sonoyta 
and  here  the  brief  existence  of  the  river  is  ended. 
This  is  ancient  Carrizal  of  Father  Kino  and  may  be 
seen  on  his  map  (1702)  and  on  that  of  Venegas 
(1757)-  From  here  on  to  the  junction  of  the  Gila 
and  Colorado,  distant  one  hundred  and  twenty 
miles,  the  country  contains  not  one  permanent 
inhabitant  and  but  two  known  watering  places. 
The  trail  is  well  known  and  has  long  been  traveled. 
It  is  the  dreaded  Camino  del  Diablo,  whose  terrible 
length  is  lined  with  the  graves  of  its  victims.  Over 
this  dreadful  road  came,  in  1540,  Captain  Melchior 
Diaz  of  Coronado's  army  to  die  amid  the  sandy 
wastes  of  the  Colorado.  Later  it  formed  the  high- 
way of  that  untiring  traveler  and  missionary  Eusibio 
Francisco   Kino.^     During   the   gold   excitement   in 

*  Papagueria,  The  land  of  the  Papagos. 


THE  CEMENTERIO 
Grave  of  a  family  that  died  of  thirst  on  the  Camino  del 
Diablo. 
Photograph  by  Captain  D.  D.  Gaillard. 


ss   the   forbidding   Papa 

desolate  desert  reaching  from  t!  Jel 

we  junction  of  the  Rios  Gila  and  Coi-jrado. 

aays  of  travel,  moving  as  rapidly  as  he  could 

._    liis    decrepit   outfit    he    reached    the    ruined 

uission  of  Sonoitac  on  what  is  now  the  boundary 

line  between  Arizona   and  Sonora.     For  the  next 

two  days  the  route  was  easy  through  the  dry  arroyo 

of  the  Sonoyta  river,  which  is  described  by  Dr.  W.  J 

McGee  as  a  channel  broad  enough  for  the  Ohio  and 

deep  enough  for  the  Schuylkill  but  dust-dry  from 

bank   to   bank.     A    march    of   twenty-three    miles 

brought  the  expedition  to  the  sink  of  the  Sonoyta 

and  here  the  brief  exisceiice  o^Tlie  river  is  ended. 

.....      .   bb  ontmBD  ait  no  JeiirLf  icLbpib  J£rij  x^i^^^  ^  ^o  9V£iO  , 

I  h!R  IS  ancient  Carnzal  c^dlicl^her  Kino  ancT  may  be 

is  ■<fmip^<{i^cMy'm'ss^  ^dniqt^Qi^fefi^f  Venegas 

rom  here  on  to  the  junction  of  the  Gila 

C4MV.    .  .';v..rado,    distant    one    ^.^".  i--^    ^"'^    r.A-,>nty 

miles,    the    country    contn^'  ent 

places, 
iveled. 
±L  ;;,  wxiuse  terrible 

len,.. .  -_    .-  .is  victims.     Over 

this  di  1540*  Captain  Melchior 

Diaz  of  Coronado  s  army  to  die  amid  the  sandy 
wastes  of  the  Colorado.     Later  it  ^ 
""  *^^at  untiring  traveler  anc^  ' 

Kino.*     During  the  in 

■urria.  The  land  of  the  Papagos. 


El  Camino  del  Diablo  59 

California  this  trail  was  used  to  a  limited  extent  by- 
Americans  who  braved  the  terrors  of  the  desert 
rather  than  risk  encountering  the  hostile  Apaches 
by  a  more  northerly  route.  So  great  was  the  mor- 
tality, however,  among  the  travelers  that  the  route 
was  soon  abandoned.  It  is  said  that  during  a  period 
of  eight  years  four  hundred  travelers  perished  of 
thirst  between  Altar  and  Yuma. 

From  Carrizal  the  trail  stretches  across  the  Tule 
desert  with  the  nearest  water  forty-five  miles  distant 
and  but  a  scanty  supply  then.  Dividing  his  expedi- 
tion into  two  parts  Anza  marched  with  the  first 
division  at  noon  of  January  30th,  leaving  the  second 
division,  which  consisted  of  the  pack  trains,  under 
charge  of  a  corporal  and  seven  soldiers,  to  follow 
later.  He  made  about  sixteen  miles  and  encamped 
for  the  night  in  what  he  calls  a  hajio  (flat  place) 
without  either  water  or  pasture.  This  bajio  was 
a  low  lying  place  in  the  Tule  desert  called  Las 
Playas.  It  is  bordered  by  a  fringe  of  mesquite  and 
greasewood  and  in  certain  seasons  a  little  water 
may  be  found  there.  Resuming  his  march  at  seven 
thirty  o'clock  the  next  morning  an  hour's  travel 
brought  him  to  the  mal  pais,  a  vast,  sloping  sheet  of 
black  lava  reaching  from  the  Sierra  Pinto  on  the 
north  to  the  Sierra  Pinecate  on  the  south,  and 
which,  Anza  says,  grew  neither  grass  nor  tree,  small 
shrub  nor  larger  one.  Passing  the  lava  beds,  the 
division  reached  the  Tule  mountains  and  the  Tina j as 
del  Cerro  de  la  Cabeza  Prieta — ^The  Tanks  of  the 


6o         The  Beginnings  of  San  Francisco 

Blackhead  Butte — having  traveled  about  sixteen 
miles.  Anza  gave  to  the  tinajas  the  name  of  La 
Empinada — the  Elevated.  It  is  the  Agua  Escon- 
dida — ^Hidden  water — of  Father  Kino  or  his  Agua 
de  la  Luna;  it  is  situated  in  longitude  one  hundred 
and  thirteen  degrees,  forty-five  minutes,  about  five 
miles  north  of  the  boundary  line  and  consists  of 
several  tanks  high  up  a  rocky  canon,  reached  only 
after  a  hard  climb.  These  tanks  hold,  when  filled 
by  the  rains,  about  five  thousand  gallons.* 

Anza  found  but  a  scanty  supply  of  water  in  La 
Empinada,  and  leaving  it  for  his  pack-train  pushed 
on  eight  miles  into  the  Lechuguilla  desert,t  and 
camped  for  the  night  without  water  and  with  little 
pasture  for  the  animals.  Resuming  his  march  at 
eight  o'clock  in  the  morning  after  the  second  night 
without  water,  Anza  remarks  that  the  ground  they 
passed  over  gave  forth  a  hollow  sound  under  the 
tramping  of  the  horses  as  if  there  were  dungeons 
beneath  the  road.J     A  march  of  twelve  miles  brought 


*  A  tinaja  or  tank  is  a  pocket  in  the  rock  where  water  may  be  found  after 
local  storms. 

t  This  desert  lies  between  the  Tule  mountains  and  the  Gila  range.  It 
takes  its  name  from  a  plant  of  the  Agave  family  called  Lechuguilla — Little 
Lettuce.  Costanso  writing  of  the  Indians  of  San  Diego,  says:  "They  wear 
no  clothing  save  a  girdle,  woven  like  a  very  fine  net  with  a  fiber  which  they 
obtain  from  a  plant  called  lechuguilla.  Anza  notes  the  Indians  of  San  Jacinto 
mountains  wearing  this  girdle,  also  a  headdress  of  the  same.  The  illustrations 
in  Venega's  Noiicias  show  the  Indian  women  of  Lower  California  wearing  the 
netting  in  that  manner. 

X  Captain  Gaillard  of  the  Boundary  Commission  informs  me  that  he  noticed 
the  same  peculiarity  in  that  locality  caused  by  the  horizontal  stratifications  and 
separation  of  the  underlying  layers  of  rock. 


Las  Tinajas  Altas  6i 

the  division  to  Las  Tinajas  Altas — the  High  Tanks. 
Here  was  water  in  plenty  and  pasture  nearby.  These 
tinajas  have  been  known  since  the  time  of  the  earliest 
Christian  explorers  and  were  probably  known  to 
the  Papagos  centuries  before.*  They  are  set  in 
the  side  of  a  natural  semi-circular  area  on  the 
east  side  of  the  Gila  mountains,  about  three  and  a 
half  miles  north  of  the  boundary  line,  and  consist 
of  a  number  of  tanks  worn  in  the  solid  rock 
by  the  waters  of  a  narrow  rocky  valley  several 
hundred  feet  above,  which  during  the  rains  come 
tumbling  through  the  narrow  gorge  and  fill  the 
tanks.  There  are  seven  large  tanks  and  a  number 
of  small  ones;  but  with  exception  of  the  lowest 
tank,  which  can  be  approached  by  animals,  they  are 
very  difficult  of  access.  They  range  one  above 
another  and  can  only  be  reached  by  climbing  several 
hundred  feet  up  the  steep  side  of  a  ravine.  The 
water,  surrounded  and  protected  by  overhanging 
walls,  is  deliciously  cool  and  palatable.  The 
tanks  will  hold  from  fifteen  to  twenty  thousand 
gallons.' 

Anza  remained  here  until  the  morning  of  the 
third  day  to  rest  his  command  and  let  his  pack- 
train  come  up,  the  mules  being  in  bad  condition 
and  barely  able  to  travel.  In  honor  of  the  day, 
which  was  the  Feast  of  the  Purification  of  St.  Mary, 
Anza  named  the  aguage  La  Purificacion. 

*  Prof.  Herbert  E.  Bolton  identifies  La  Tinaja  of  Father  Kino  with  a  tank 
east  of  the  Gila  range,  about  fifteen  miles  south  of  the  Gila  river. 


62         The  Beginnings  of  San  Francisco 

He  resumed  his  march  February  4th,  and  crossed 
the  Gila  range  by  the  Tinaja  pass.  His  next  day's 
march  was  thirteen  miles  and  he  stopped  at  some 
wells  named  by  him  Los  Pozos  de  en  Medio — the 
Half-way  Wells.  The  next  day  he  followed  the  same 
general  direction,  north-northwest,  keeping  close  to 
the  base  of  the  Gila  mountains  to  avoid  a  range  of 
high  and  almost  impassable  sand-hills  extending 
in  a  northwesterly  direction  from  below  the  bound- 
ary line,  in  longitude  one  hundred  and  fourteen 
degrees,  twenty  minutes,  to  the  Gila  river.  A 
march  of  eighteen  and  a  half  miles  brought  him  to 
his  next  watering  place,  a  spring  off  the  road — per- 
haps in  the  Telegraph  pass  of  the  Gila  mountains. 
Neither  this  well  nor  that  of  the  preceding  camp  is 
known  to-day.  Anza  says  from  its  being  out  of  the 
road  they  inferred  it  was  the  one  named  by  the  Jesuit 
fathers  La  Agua  Escondida — the  Hidden  water.  The 
Agua  Escondida  shown  on  Father  Kino's  map  is 
east  of  the  Gila  range. 

At  this  last  camp  he  found  a  Papago  Indian  await- 
ing him  with  a  message  from  Palma,  chief  of  the 
Yumas.  Anza  had  met  Palma  at  the  presidio  of 
Altar  just  before  starting  to  cross  the  Papagueria 
and  had  notified  him  that  he  would  pass  through 
his  territory.  The  Yuma  chief  now  sent  to  warn 
Anza  of  an  intention  among  the  Indians  of  the  river 
to  murder  him  and  his  company  and  seize  his  outfit. 
Palma,  the  messenger  said,  had  vainly  endeavored 
to  dissuade  the  Indians  from  attempting  such  an 


An  Indian  Conspiracy  63 

act  which,  as  he  told  them,  would  bring  down  upon 
the  tribe  the  vengeance  of  the  Spaniards. '°  They 
were,  however,  bent  upon  mischief  and  he  advised 
Anza  to  be  on  his  guard  and  approach  the  junction 
of  the  rivers  with  caution.  Anza  did  not  consider 
the  matter  serious,  but  sent  the  Papago  to  ask  Palma 
to  meet  the  expedition,  that  they  might  confer  in 
regard  to  the  conspiracy,  and  at  two  o'clock  the 
following  afternoon  resumed  his  march  for  the  rivers, 
distant  twelve  leagues*  (31.2  miles).  He  made 
about  one-half  of  this  distance  and  halted  for  the 
night  where  there  was  some  feed  for  the  animals, 
but  no  water.  Starting  at  sunrise  the  next  morning 
he  met  his  messenger  returning  with  an  under-chief 
of  the  Yumas,  Palma  being  absent.  This  under- 
chief  was  unarmed  and  was  accompanied  by  eight 
warriors  armed  with  bows  and  arrows,  and  all,  like 
himself,  entirely  naked.  In  his  hand  he  carried  a 
lighted  brand  with  which,  Anza  tells  us,  he  warmed 
himself  by  applying  it  to  the  stomach  or  hindquar- 
ters, f 

The  chief  informed  Anza  that  Palma  had  taken 
vigorous  measures  for  the  protection  of  the  Spaniards 
by  expelling  from  his  jurisdiction  those  who  were 
trying  to  make  trouble,  and  all  was  now  quiet  and 
peaceful;  that  Palma  had  been  sent  for  and  would 
soon  meet  him  with  a  hearty  welcome.     Resuming 


*  The  league  was  5000  varas — 2.604  miles.     A  vara  is  33  inches, 
t  Melchior  Diaz,  who  reached  the  Colorado  river  in  the  fall  of   1540,  named 
it  the  Rio  del  Tizon — River  of  the  Firebrand — because  of  this  custom. 


64         The  Beginnings  of  San  Francisco 

his  march  Anza  reached  the  Rio  Gila  at  three  in 
the  afternoon  accompanied  by  two  hundred  Yuma 
braves  who  had  come  out  to  meet  him  and  wh6 
escorted  him  with  shouts  and  laughter  and  other 
demonstrations  of  joy.  At  five  o'clock  Palma  arrived 
with  a  body  of  sixty  Indians  and  the  white  and  red 
chieftains  embraced  each  other  with  affection  before 
the  company.  Captain  Anza  entertained  his  visitors 
with  some  refreshments  while  at  Palma's  request 
he  permitted  the  Indians,  most  of  whom  had  never 
before  seen  a  white  man,  to  examine  the  dress  and 
equipment  of  the  men.  Palma,  noting  the  posted 
guards  with  swords  drawn  and  horses  ready,  asked 
why  this  was  done  and  said  the  men  should  betake 
themselves  to  rest  and  liberty,  relying  on  the  friend- 
ship of  the  Yumas.  Anza  informed  him  that 
soldiers  were  ever  on  guard;  that  even  in  the  presidio 
the  men  were  on  guard  as  if  in  the  face  of  the 
enemy. 

After  bestowing  a  decoration  on  the  chief,  Anza, 
in  the  name  of  the  king  confirmed  him  in  his  com- 
mand of  the  Yumas,  giving  him  a  brief  account  of 
the  authority  of  the  king  who,  in  his  turn,  was 
responsible  to  God  the  ruler  of  all.  After  this  Palma 
took  Anza's  staff  and  made  a  long  harangue  to  his 
people,  explaining  the  nature  of  the  honor  done 
him  and  of  his  responsibility  to  the  king,  and  then 
ordered  them  to  their  huts  for  the  night.  In  the 
morning  a  short  journey  down  the  river  brought 
them  to  the  ford  of  the  Gila  and  the  house  of  Palma 


First  Stage  of  Journey  Completed        65 

where,  in  the  presence  of  six  hundred  of  his  people, 
the  chief  received  and  entertained  the  white  men  with 
generous  hospitaHty. 

The  first  stage  of  the  long  journey  is  completed. 
In  one  month  Anza  has  traveled  one  hundred  and 
thirty-eight  leagues  (three  hundred  and  fifty-nine 
miles)  of  desert,  with  a  worn  and  decrepit  outfit. 
So  far  he  has  braved  the  known  danger,  traveled 
the  known  trail.  He  is  now  to  face  the  unknown. 
Desolate  as  was  the  land  through  which  he  has 
come,  he  has  now  to  encounter  deserts  as  dreadful, 
fierce  savages  warring  against  each  other  and  hostile 
to  the  invader,  and  without  guides,  wander  amid 
sandy  wastes  in  search  of  water. 


Chapter  IV. 

THE  PASSAGE  OF  THE 
COLORADO     DESERT 

1774 


yl  NZA  reached  the  junction  of  the  Rios  Gila  and 
A\  Colorado,  February  7,  1774.  Giving  up  the 
following  day  to  rest  and  to  the  enjoyment 
of  the  hospitality  of  the  Yumas,  he  began  the  second 
stage  of  his  journey  February  9th,  by  the  passage  of 
the  Rio  Colorado,  the  first  crossing  into Alta  California 
by  white  men.  The  river  had  been  crossed  by  Melchior 
Diaz  in  1540,  Father  Kino  in  1701,  and  by  Father 
Garces,  one  of  the  two  priests  now  with  Anza,  in  1771, 
but  all  these  had  crossed  into  Lower  California.  Palma 
guided  the  expedition  to  a  ford  where,  with  the 
assistance  of  the  Indians,  they  made  a  safe  passage. 
In  celebration  of  this  event,  and  of  its  being  accom- 
plished for  the  first  time  by  the  king's  arms,  the 
comandante  fired  a  salvo  and  set  off  some  rockets 
which  pleased  the  Indians  very  much  by  their  flight 
through  the  air,  though  the  sound  of  the  guns 
frightened  them  so  that  they  threw  themselves  on 
the  ground.  Anza  crossed  the  river  above  its  junc- 
tion with  the  Gila,  and  notes  in  his  diary  that  it  is 
the  season  of  the  greatest  drouth  and  he  found  it 
only  three  and  a  half  feet  deep  and  five  hundred 
and  seventy  feet  wide.  He  gives  an  excellent 
description  of  the  river  and  its  surroundings,  the 
San  Dionisio  of  Father  Kino,  a  Yuma  rancheria,* 
now  the  town  of  Yuma,  Arizona;  the  Purple  hills 
ten  miles  to  the  north-northwest,  through  whose 
gorges  the  Colorado  emerges  into  the  open  valley; 

*  Rancheria — an  Indian  village  or  town. 

69 


70        The  Beginnings  of  San  Francisco 

the  large  peak  to  the  northwest,  which  he  named 
Cabeza  del  Gigante — Giant's  Head — now  called 
Castle  Dome;  a  lesser  peak  fifteen  miles  to  the 
north,  which,  on  account  of  its  shape,  he  named  La 
Campana — ^The  Bell — now  called  Chimney  Peak. 
He  also  notes  that  below  the  junction  of  the  Gila 
and  Colorado  the  united  river  is  constrained  to  a 
narrow  strait  about  lOO  varas  (275  feet)  wide  between 
bluffs  of  moderate  height.  To  this  he  gave  the  name 
of  Puerto  de  la  Concepcion.  Here  was  established 
in  1780,  on  the  bluffs  of  the  California  side,  the  mis- 
sion of  La  Purisima  Concepcion,  the  site  of  the 
present  Fort  Yuma. 

Having  safely  transferred  his  baggage  across  the 
river  Anza  camped  for  the  night,  being  much  troubled 
by  the  multitude  of  naked  Indians  in  the  camp. 
He  presented  them  with  an  ox,  and  trinkets  and 
tobacco,  hoping  to  get  rid  of  them,  but  they  remained 
to  sleep  with  their  new  friends.  Anza  describes 
the  Yumas  as  tall  and  robust,  lighter  in  color  than 
the  Pimas,  with  faces  which,  though  naturally  good, 
they  had  disfigured  with  paint.  Their  ears  were 
bored  with  from  three  to  five  holes  in  each  of  which 
they  wore  a  ring.  They  also  pierced  the  cartilage 
of  the  nose  and  through  it  passed  a  bunch  of  feathers 
or  a  stick  a  palm  (eight  and  a  half  inches)  in  length, 
and  as  thick  as  a  large  quill.  They  went  naked  for 
they  considered  it  womanly  to  be  covered.  They 
dressed  their  hair  with  clay  and  over  it  threw  a 
powder  that  had  a  luster  like  silver,  sleeping  seated 


The  Yuma  Nation  71 

so  as  not  to  disturb  this  headdress.  Their  arms 
were  bows  and  arrows  of  poor  quahty,  staves  four 
varas  (eleven  feet)  long,  and  clubs.  The  women 
were  large  like  the  men,  and  Anza  observes  that  their 
faces  were  about  as  he  has  seen  other  Indian  women; 
he  saw  none  that  were  horribly  ugly  nor  did  he  see 
any  specially  handsome.  Their  dress  consisted  of 
a  sort  of  petticoat  down  to  the  knee  divided  into 
two  parts,  that  in  front  being  the  shorter. 

Anza  estimated  the  Yuma  nation  as  numbering 
thirty-five  hundred  souls.  Their  lands  were  rich 
bottom  lands  capable  of  high  cultivation.  Indeed 
he  saw  wheat  growing  without  irrigation  so  good 
that  the  best  lands  in  Sonora  could  not  equal  it, 
and  he  was  astonished  at  the  abundance  of  maize, 
beans,  calabashes,  and  melons  they  grew.  He  also 
notes  that  dams  could  be  made  and  the  water  carried 
for  a  long  distance  for  irrigation.  All  these  descrip- 
tions are  interesting  in  view  of  the  reclamation  work 
being  done  at  this  point  by  the  United  States  Govern- 
ment and  by  private  corporations. 

On  the  following  morning,  February  loth,  Anza 
resumed  his  march  taking  his  way  down  the  Colorado, 
which  here  flows  almost  due  west,  accompanied  by 
about  six  hundred  Yumas  who,  with  somewhat 
troublesome  kindness,  insisted  on  driving  the  horses, 
pack  mules,  and  cattle,  each  beast  being  surrounded 
by  five  or  six  Indians.  The  march  was  a  weary  one, 
for  the  road,  though  mostly  level,  was  but  a  twisting- 
corkscrew  of  a  trail  through  a  chaparral  of  mesquite 


72         The  Beginnings  of  San  Francisco 

and  other  brush  that  filled  the  river  bottom  and  made 
it  difficult  for  the  animals.  After  four  leagues  of 
travel  the  expedition  reached  Pilot  Knob,  to  which 
Anza  gave  the  name  of  Cerro  de  San  Pablo.  Here 
the  river  takes  a  turn  to  the  south,  and  traveling 
another  league  further  the  expedition  halted  for 
the  night  at  the  Rancheria  de  San  Pablo,  a  Yuman 
village  on  the  river-bank.  This  was  the  site  of  the 
second  Colorado  mission,  San  Pedro  y  San  Pablo 
de  Bicuner,  established  in  the  fall  of  1780,  and 
destroyed,  together  with  its  sister  mission  La 
Purisima  Concepcion,  on  July  17,  1 781,  by  this  same 
Palma  and  his  Indians.  The  next  day's  march 
carried  them  six  leagues  further  down  the  river  in 
a  southwesterly  direction  to  a  lake  in  the  flood  plain 
of  the  river  which  the  commander  called  Laguna  de 
las  Cojas.  Here  the  jurisdiction  of  the  Yumas 
ended  and  that  of  the  Cojat  nation  began.  I  find 
no  record  of  any  tribe  of  that  name,  but  Anza's 
description  fits  that  of  the  Cajuenche,  a  tribe  inhabit- 
ing the  lower  Colorado  below  Yuma.  The  next  day's 
travel  of  four  and  a  half  leagues  to  the  south  and 
west  and  away  from  the  river,  brought  the  command 
to  a  large  laguna,  two  and  a  half  miles  in  length,  but 
narrow,  some  five  and  a  half  feet  in  depth,  and  well 
stocked  with  fish.  This  lake,  to  which  Anza  gave  the 
name  of  Laguna  de  Santa  Olalla,  was  left  from  the 
overflow  of  the  river.  It  was  probably  located  on 
the  Rio  Padrones,  about  twelve  miles  south  of  the 
boundary  line  and  eight  miles  west  of  the  river. 


The  Perils  of  the  Desert  73 

Anza  had  now  reached  the  end  of  the  known  land. 
The  Cajuenches,  or,  as  he  calls  them,  the  Cojats, 
received  him  with  the  same  friendly  welcome  given 
by  their  relatives,  the  Yumas,  but  their  jurisdiction 
was  confined  to  the  flood  plain  of  the  river,  and  to 
the  west  ranged  the  fierce  Comeya,  into  whose  terri- 
tory no  Cajuenche  or  Yuma  would  venture.  The 
expedition  must  cross  the  Colorado  desert  without 
guides  and  find  the  water-holes  as  best  it  could. 

Among  Anza's  train  was  a  Christian  Indian, 
Sebastian  Tarabel,  by  name,  a  native  of  the  mission 
of  Santa  Gertrudes  in  Lower  California.  He  was 
one  of  five  Indians  of  that  mission  who  had  accom- 
panied Portola  on  his  march  to  Monterey  in  1769. 
Sebastian  had  found  the  country  so  well  suited  to 
his  taste  that  he  had  brought  his  wife  from  Lower 
California  and  settled  at  the  mission  of  San  Gabriel. 
Becoming  tired  of  life  at  the  mission  he  had  run 
away,  taking  with  him  his  wife  and  his  brother,  and 
had  struck  out  across  the  San  Jacinto  mountains 
and  the  Colorado  desert  for  the  pueblos  of  the 
Yumas.  Lost  amid  the  sand-hills  of  the  desert,  his 
wife  and  his  brother  perished,  but  he,  rescued 
by  the  Yumas,  had  been  taken  by  Palma  to  the 
presidio  of  Altar,  where  he  joined  the  expedition  of 
Anza  as  guide.  These  sand-hills  of  the  Colorado 
desert  reach  from  a  point  about  thirty-five  miles 
north  of  the  boundary  line  to  some  ten  or  twelve 
miles  below  it,  the  tract  varying  in  width  from  ten 
to  thirty  miles.     They  are  greatly  dreaded,  because 


74         The  Beginnings  of  San  Francisco 

their  similarity  of  appearance  is  most  bewildering 
and  the  constantly  shifting  sand  quickly  obliterates 
any  trail  made  through  them.  It  was  to  avoid 
these  that  the  detour  to  the  southwest  into  Lower 
California  was  made. 

The  Indian,  Sebastian,  was  of  no  help  to  Anza 
in  his  present  need.  Palma  had  accompanied  them 
to  Santa  Olalla,  but  here  he  left  them,  saying  he 
could  go  no  further,  for  the  expedition  would  now 
pass  into  the  land  of  his  enemies.  He  said  that  by 
the  time  Anza  returned  the  Colorado  would  be  in 
flood  but  he  would  be  prepared  with  rafts  and  would 
take  the  Spaniards  over  in  safety.  With  tears  in 
his  eyes  he  said  good-bye  (a  Dios)  to  his  friend,  and 
the  expedition  plunged  into  the  unknown  desert. 

Anza  had  induced  some  Cajuenches  to  go  with 
him  the  first  day's  journey,  and  traveling  seven 
leagues  to  the  west-northwest,  the  Indians  guided 
the  party  to  an  arroyo  containing  some  thick  and 
brackish  water  and  a  little  carrizo  (reed  grass)  which 
Anza  named  Los  Pozos  del  Carrizal.  The  arroyo 
was  the  Alamo  river  and  the  place  was  one  now  known 
as  Gardner's  Lagoon.  Two  of  the  Cajuenches 
remained  in  the  camp,  the  rest  returning  to  Santa 
Olalla.  Resuming  his  march  the  next  morning, 
February  14th,  Anza  was  accompanied  a  short 
league  by  the  two  Cajuenches  who  then  left  him, 
saying  they  dared  go  no  further,  but  that  the  expedi- 
tion could  safely  reach  the  next  watering  place 
(aguage)  near  the  sierra  to  the  west.     In  the  same 


Lost  in  the  Desert  75 

arroyo,  near  some  carrizo,  Anza  dug  for  water  and 
finding  a  little  halted  to  rest  the  animals.  These 
wells  he  called  Los  Pozos  de  en  Medio  (the  Half- 
way Wells).  The  next  morning  he  began  his  march 
in  a  westerly  direction  towards  the  sierra.  After 
traveling  a  league  he  came  to  a  pool  of  very  brackish 
water,  thence  another  league  through  sand-hills 
brought  him  to  another  pot  hole  containing  very 
little  water,  but  somewhat  better  than  the  last. 
Here  the  exhausted  condition  of  the  mules  compelled 
him  to  leave  half  his  baggage,  and  placing  it  in  charge 
of  a  guard  he  pushed  on.  He  was  soon  in  the  midst 
of  thickly  clustered  sand-hills  where  the  trail  became 
entirely  obliterated.  Finding  himself  in  a  dangerous 
situation,  Anza  consulted  the  two  priests  and  sug- 
gested that  since  the  animals  were  too  weak  to  carry 
through  all  the  baggage,  they  return  half  of  it  and 
half  of  the  troops  to  the  rancheria  of  the  Yumas, 
and  with  the  other  half,  without  encumbrance, 
make  a  rapid  journey  to  Northern  California. 
Father  Diaz  agreed  to  the  plan  but  Garces  objected. 
He  did  not  see  the  necessity  for  it  and  did  not  think 
it  wise  to  divide  the  force.  Realizing  the  danger 
Anza  related  to  him  the  fate  of  previous  expeditions 
in  like  circumstances,  but  Garces  remained  of  the 
same  opinion  and  Anza,  having  a  high  opinion  of 
Garces'  experience  and  skill  as  a  traveler,  resumed 
the  march.  For  some  time  they  held  to  the  westerly 
course  among  the  sand-hills  and  then  came  to  one 
larger  and  higher,  which  neither  the  horses  in  their 


76         The  Beginnings  of  San  Francisco 

weakened  condition  nor  the  laden  mules  could  sur- 
mount. Forced  to  abandon  the  route  to  the  sierra 
in  the  west,  which  appeared  to  be  about  five  leagues 
distant,*  Anza  turned  to  the  south  towards  another 
sierra  nearer  than  the  first,  close  to  which,  Garces 
said,  was  a  large  rancheria  called  San  Jacome,  where 
he  had  been  two  years  before.  Anza  notified  the 
leader  of  the  pack-train,  which  was  following,  of 
the  change  of  direction  and  with  the  advance  guard 
pushed  on  for  San  Jacome.  The  sun  had  set  when 
they  reached  the  sierra  and  having  passed  it  they 
found  neither  tracks,  paths,  nor  other  indications 
of  habitation.  Some  of  the  soldiers  were  now  on 
foot,  their  horses  having  given  out,  and  Anza  halted 
while  the  priests  with  two  soldiers  went  in  search 
of  the  stopping-place  (paraje).  Returning  unsuc- 
cessful late  in  the  night,  Garces  begged  for  another 
chance,  and  Anza  giving  him  the  only  soldiers  whose 
horses  could  carry  them  sent  him  on  his  quest. 

Garces  returned  without  having  found  San  Jacome 
and  Anza  resolved  to  go  back  to  the  last  aguage, 
realizing  that  if  water  and  pasture  were  not  found  the 
next  day  the  expedition  would  be  exposed  to  total  loss. 

All  through  the  night  he  waited  for  the  pack-train, 
horse-herd,  and  cattle  to  come  up,  and  at  daybreak 
began  his  return.  At  sunrise  he  met  the  train  and 
at  two  in  the  afternoon,  worn  out  with  hunger  and 
thirst,  and  having  lost  a  large  number  of  animals, 
they  reached  the  well  where  they  had  left  the  bag- 

*  Probably  Signal  mountain;  about  forty  miles  away. 


nt  «fn- 


,#■ 


SAND-HILLS  OF  THE  COLORADO  DESERT 

Photograph  by  United  States  Geological  Survey. 

W.  C.  Mendenhall. 


iVKTKGS    OF    S  sCC) 

.  coiiciitiou  nor  the  laden  mi.  ild  sur- 

Forced  to  abandon  the  routu  ^..    ,.c  sierra 

west,  which  appeared  to  be  about  five  leagues 

;  :t:int,*  Anza  turned  to  the  south  towards  another 

nearer  than  the  first,  close  to  which,  Garces 

sjiU,  was  a  large  rancheria  called  San  Jacomc,  where 

he  had  been  two  years  before.     Anza  notified  the 

leader  of  the  pack-train,  which  was  following,  of 

the  change  of  direction  and  with  the  advance  guard 

pushed  on  for  San  Jacome.     The  sun  had  set  when 

they  reached  the  sierra  and  having  passed  it  they 

found  neither  tracks,  paths,  nor  other  indications 

of  habitation.     Some  of  the  soldiers  were  now  on 

foot,  their  horses  having  given  out,  and  Anza  halted 

while  theT^M%o^^Jec?fi'61^^JW^MA?n  search 

of   the   st6Fp^"n^i^J!^j£^t^^^^^^  unsuc- 

cessful  late  in  the  night,  Garces  begged  for  another 

e,  and  Anza  giving  him  the  only  soldiers  whose 

lid  carry  them  sent  him  on 

'•^-'-ed  without  b-'-'  ■'"  ■■■  j.^^ome 

cd  to  ^^r-,  St  aguage, 

T(  i  re  were  not  found  the 

next  day  the  expedition  would  be  exposed  to  total  loss. 

All^'  '     '       ■  ''  he  waited  for  the  r    ^   -'.hi. 

horse-1 .,  ....        o  come  up,  and  a.  _.cal: 

began  his  return.     At  sunrise  he  met  the  truin  and 

at  two  in  the  afternoon,  worn  out  with  !  and 

thirst,  and  having  lost  a  large  numb  iinials, 

v.  ,.    -  -hed  the  well  where  they  ''  ■  bag- 

.i'.ri.-5l  nif  iiinrxin  •  ahont  fnrfv  niilev,  . 


Retreat  to  the  Colorado  77 

gage.  In  memory  of  their  sufferings  and  in  the  fear 
that  this  miscarriage  would  defeat  the  object  of 
the  expedition,  Anza  named  the  paraje  La  Poza  de 
las  Angustias — the  Well  of  the  Afflictions.  Sending 
the  cattle  on  to  the  Pozos  de  en  Medio  that  they 
might  find  some  carrizo  to  eat,  Anza  rested  until 
noon  of  the  following  day.  He  realized  how  hopeless 
was  the  attempt  to  cross  the  desert  with  his  animals 
in  such  condition  and  he  determined  to  return  to 
the  river,  give  his  men  and  animals  a  rest,  entrust 
his  baggage  and  useless  animals  to  the  care  of  Palma, 
and  with  his  escort  mounted  on  the  strongest  horses 
and  taking  only  the  most  necessary  supplies,  make 
a  dash  for  Monterey.  With  this  intent  and  without 
consultation  with  the  padres,  Anza  began  his  retreat. 
Leaving  the  Poza  de  las  Angustias  after  midday 
of  February  17th,  Anza  took  the  trail  to  the  Pozos 
de  en  Medio,  the  pack-mules  carrying  half  loads. 
Most  of  the  soldiers  were  now  on  foot  but  to  the  co- 
mandante's  words  of  encouragement  they  responded 
that  if  all  the  horses  failed  they  would  make  the 
whole  journey  on  foot,  could  the  object  of  the  expedi- 
tion be  thus  attained.  Anza  commended  their 
faithfulness  and  promised  to  remember  and  reward 
them  as  far  as  was  in  his  power  for  their  concern 
for  the  king's  service.* 

*  On  October  I,  1786,  Don  Pedro  Pages,  governor  of  California,  ordered  that 
Juan  Ignacio  Valencia,  a  soldier  of  Anza's  first  expedition,  be  paid  one  escudo 
(about  $2.00)  per  month  additional  pay  from  October  8,  1774,  to  June  10, 
1788,  for  his  services  on  that  trip.  (Spanish  Archives  of  California,  Provincial 
State  Papers  MSS.  Fill,  142). 


78         The  Beginnings  of  San  Francisco 

On  the  morning  of  the  nineteenth  Anza  reached 
the  Laguna  de  Santa  Olalla  and  the  half  laden  pack- 
train  arrived  at  eleven  o'clock  on  the  night  of  the 
twentieth,  but  it  was  not  until  the  twenty-third 
that  he  got  in  all  his  baggage.  He  was  received  by 
Palma  as  one  returned  from  the  dead.  The  Yuma 
chief  made  known  his  grief  at  the  hardships  of  his 
friend  and  the  loss  of  his  cahallerias*  Garces 
volunteered  to  visit  the  rancherias  of  the  lower 
Colorado  in  hopes  of  obtaining  some  information 
regarding  the  route  across  the  desert,  and  to  this 
the  comandante  agreed,  charging  him  to  return 
within  four  or  five  days.  Anza  then  proceeded  to 
explore  the  mind  of  Palma  to  ascertain  if  he  were 
worthy  of  confidence,  and  satisfied  on  this  point, 
he  communicated  to  the  chief  his  intention  of  leav- 
ing with  him  a  portion  of  his  baggage  and  animals, 
and  some  of  his  people,  to  await  the  return  of  the 
expedition  from  Monterey  which,  Anza  said,  would 
be  in  a  little  more  than  a  month.  To  this  Palma 
heartily  agreed,  promising  to  keep  all  in  safety 
until  Anza's  return,  and  that  the  mules  might  suc- 
ceed in  reaching  the  rancheria  he  offered  to  transport 
the  baggage  on  the  shoulders  of  his  people.  This, 
however,  Anza  would  not  permit.  Having  com- 
pleted the  arrangement  with  Palma,  Anza  communi- 
cated it  to  the  individuals  of  the  expedition,  and  with 
one  voice  they  approved  of  the  plan.     The  soldiers 


*  Caballeria,  riding  beast.     Anza  uses   the  expression  to  mean  both  riding 
and  pack-animals. 


Anza  Again  Essays  the  Desert  79 

repeated  the  statement  that  they  were  eager  to 
undertake  the  journey  and  again  declared  their 
willingness,  should  all  the  horses  be  lost,  to  march 
on  foot  so  long  as  their  strength  lasted. 

Several  days  passed  in  rest  and  recreation.  The 
Yuma,  Cajuenche,  and  Quiquima  Indians  thronged 
the  camp  and  were  much  entertained  by  the  music 
of  a  violin  played  by  one  of  the  soldiers.  The 
women  learned  to  dance  in  the  Spanish  fashion,  and 
both  sexes  learned  to  salute  the  Spaniards  with 
"Ave  Maria";  "viva  Dios  y  el  Rey";  pronouncing 
the  Spanish  words  with  fluency. 

On  the  first  of  March  Garces  returned  without 
having  learned  anything  concerning  the  route  they 
must  take,  and  the  next  day  the  expedition  again 
essayed  the  passage  of  the  desert,  leaving  behind 
the  greater  part  of  the  baggage,  three  soldiers,  three 
muleteers,  and  one  of  Anza's  servants,  with  the  surplus 
cattle  and  caballerias.  They  now  kept  down  the 
plain  of  the  Colorado  to  avoid  the  sand-hills  and 
shorten  the  journey  across  the  desert  to  the  sierra. 
For  two  days  they  continued  down  the  river  among 
the  rancherias  of  the  Cajuenches,  and  then,  on  March 
4th,  turned  to  the  west-northwest  towards  the  Cocopa 
mountains,  guided  by  a  Cajuenche  Indian.  After  a 
journey  of  six  or  seven  leagues  the  guide  proposed 
that  they  camp  for  the  night,  assuring  the  commander 
that  they  would  reach  the  aguage  by  noon  the  follow- 
ing day.  To  this  proposition  Anza  assented  with 
reluctance  as  there  was  in  the  place  neither  water 


8o         The  Beginnings  of  San  Francisco 

nor  pasture.  Starting  at  daybreak  the  next  morning 
the  march  was  continued  in  a  direction  varying  be- 
tween north  and  west  to  avoid  the  sand-hills,  and  after 
a  journey  of  twelve  and  a  half  leagues  (thirty-two  and 
a  half  miles)  they  reached  some  pot  holes  containing 
a  scanty  supply  of  water  and  a  little  pasture.  To 
these  wells  Anza  gave  the  name  San  Eusebio.  On 
the  day's  journey  they  came  upon  what  appeared 
to  be  an  arm  of  the  sea  {brazo  del  mar)  which  Anza 
thought  must  come  from  the  Gulf  of  California, 
thirty  leagues  distant.  He  tasted  the  water  and 
found  it  salty  and  he  found  stranded  there  a  large 
quantity  of  fish  of  the  kind  that  belong  to  the  sea. 
The  little  water  of  the  wells  of  San  Eusebio  was 
soon  exhausted  and  one  half  of  the  beasts  had  none. 
To  add  to  their  misfortunes  they  discovered  that  the 
rascally  guide  had  run  off  during  the  night  leaving 
them  to  the  peril  of  the  desert  without  knowledge 
of  the  location  of  water.  Suffering  from  thirst  Anza 
sent  a  corporal  and  five  men  to  search  for  the  aguage, 
and  at  two  in  the  afternoon  moved  the  train  over  the 
track  of  the  explorers.  After  three  leagues  of  travel 
they  met  two  of  the  soldiers  who  guided  them  to 
some  springs  in  the  hills  where  there  was  water  but 
very  little  grass  for  the  beasts.  Anza  named  the 
wells  Santo  Tomas  and  here  they  remained  the  night 
of  March  6th.  I  cannot  locate  this  spring  but  it 
is  in  the  Cocopa  mountains  about  ten  miles  below 
the  boundary  line.  On  the  seventh  Anza  again  sent 
out  the  scouts,  following  on  their  trail  in  the  after- 


MUD  VOLCANOES,  COLORADO  DESERT 

Photograph  by  United  States  Geological  Survey. 
W.  C.  Mendenhall. 


INNINC  SCO 

^re.     Starting  at  daybreak  the  ne^*^  morning 
;arch  was  continued  in  a  direct!  ing  be- 

!  north  and  west  to  avoid  the  sand  id  after 

ney  of  twelve  and  a  half  leagues  (  lmI'  )  -two  and 

.-.  miles)  they  reached  some  pot  holes  containing 

a  scanty  supply  of  water  and  a  little  pasture.  To 
these  wells  Anza  gave  the  name  San  Eusebio.  On 
the  day's  journey  they  came  upon  what  appeared 
to  be  an  arm  of  the  sea  {brazo  del  mar)  which  Anza 
thought  must  come  from  the  Gulf  of  California, 
thirty  leagues  distant.  He  tasted  the  water  and 
found  it  salty  and  he  found  stranded  there  a  large 
quantity  of  fish  of  the  kind  that  belong  to  the  sea. 
The  little  Tv^a^gft  @^A^^dS'eJk)i®EoS9^a®i»sebio  was 
soon  exhau^tna2ted^i(j^ti3iii£lt3efut^ri^^i*ihad  none. 
To  add  to  their  misfbf«ffl1?eg^H^3)^discovered  that  the 
rascally  guide  had  run  off  during  the  night  leaving 
iV.^.,.  to  the  peril  of  the  desert  without  knowledge 
location  of  water.  Suffering  from  thirst  Anza 
poral  and  five  men  to  search  for  the  aguage, 
and  at  two  in  the  afternoon  moved  the  train  over  the 

tr     '    '^  ■'  ' ^ '"'      ^'     e  leagues  of  travel 

th, ...o  guided  them  to 

some  spi  the  hills  where  there  was  water  but 

very  little  grass  for  the  beasts.    Anza  named  the 
wells  Santo  Tomas  and  here  they  remaine  '  ight 

of  March  6th.     I  cannot  locate  this  sp:     .    v^ut  it 
is  in  the  Cocopa  mountains  about  ten  ?>  ■?*?«  below 
oundary  line.     On  the  seventh  ain  sent 

following  on  their  le  after- 


They  Reach  Water  8i 

noon,  and  camped  for  the  night  where  there  was  some 
pasturage  for  the  animals  but  no  water.  They  were, 
however,  cheered  by  information  the  scouts  obtained 
from  some  Indians  of  the  certainty  of  reaching  the 
long-looked  for  aguage  early  the  next  day.  Starting 
at  seven  in  the  morning,  a  march  of  one  and  a  quarter 
leagues  brought  them  to  the  wells  which  on  being 
opened  distilled  an  abundant  supply  of  most  beauti- 
ful water.  To  these  wells  Anza  gave  the  name  of 
Pozos  de  Santa  Rosa  de  las  Lajas  (the  Wells  of  Santa 
Rosa  of  the  Flat  Rocks).*  Anza's  native  Californian 
and  guide,  Sebastian  Tarabel,  recognized  in  these 
wells  one  of  the  stopping  places  of  his  former  journey, 
and  they  all  rejoiced  in  the  thought  that  now  their 
expedition  would  not  fail.  This  aguage,  Anza  says, 
was  but  eighteen  leagues  from  Santa  Olalla  (it  was 
twenty)  and  could  have  been  made  in  two  forced 
marches,  though  it  had  taken  six  days  and  thirty-five 
leagues  of  travel  to  reach  it.  At  2.30  in  the  afternoon 
Anza  resumed  his  march  and  traveling  almost  due 
north  made  four  leagues  and  camped  for  the  night 
in  the  desert  without  water  and  with  but  little 
pasture  for  the  animals.  At  daybreak  the  next 
morning  they  took  their  way  again  to  the  north 
across  some  dangerous  sand-hills,  with  the  men  on 
foot  leading  their  horses,  and  after  traveling  seven 

*  These  wells  are  now  known  as  the  Yuha  springs  and  are  located  in  the 
northwest  corner  of  section  eight,  township  seventeen  south,  range  eleven  east, 
San  Bernardino  base  and  meridian,  four  miles  north  of  the  boundary  line.  The 
water  is  about  two  feet  below  the  surface  of  a  dry  wash. 


82         The  Beginnings  of  San  Francisco 

leagues,  arrived  at  one  in  the  afternoon  at  a  large 
cienega  or  marsh — the  sink  of  the  San  Felipe  river — 
at  the  base  of  the  San  Jacinto  mountains,  the 
western  wall  of  the  desert.  Anza  gave  to  the  aguage 
the  name  of  San  Sebastian  del  Peregrino.  He  had, 
in  the  face  of  great  peril,  without  guides,  and  with 
much  suffering,  accomplished  the  passage  of  the 
Colorado  desert. 


^^P^**'!||P' 


CARRIZO  CREEK,  COLORADO  DESERT 

Photograph  by  United  States  Geological  Survey. 
W.  C.  Mendenhall. 


H2  NNINGS   OF   SaN   FrANCISCO 

rrived  at  one  in  the  afternonn    i^  a  large 

:  marsh — ^the  sink  of  the  San  ^iVer — 

c    base   of   the   San   Jacinto   moui  the 

v=.  siern  wall  of  the  desert.     Anza  gave  to  age 

the  name  of  San  Sebastian  del  Peregrino.     ..     uad, 

in  ihe  face  of  great  peril,  without  guides,  and  with 

much   suffering,    accomplished   the  passage  of   the 

Colorado  desert. 


T^aaaa  oaA;iojoD  .xz^fio  osm^AO 

.X3Viu8  IfiDJ^oloaO  23Jb}8  baJinU  yd  riqBigoJoril 
.jjAHMaaviaM  .0  .W 


Chapter  V. 

EL  CAMINO  REAL 
1774 


yl  NZA  found  the  water  of  the  Cienega  de  San 
/-\  Sebastian*  very  alkahne  and  the  grass  so 
affected  by  it  that  the  animals  were  made 
sick.  At  the  cienega  was  a  small  rancheria  of  hill 
Indians  {Indios  Serranos),  a  most  miserable,  half- 
starved  lot,  ugly  and  entirely  naked,  living  on  mescal 
and  seeds,  with  such  game  as  they  could  kill  with  their 
bows  and  arrows.  They  also  used  the  boomerang, 
throwing  it  with  great  dexterity  and  skill.  These  In- 
dians have  been  identified  with  the  Comeya  who  form- 
erly occupied  the  country  from  the  head  of  the  Gulf 
of  California  to  the  Sierra  Madre  and  from  the  Pacific 
to  the  lands  of  the  Yumas.  They  were  as  fierce  and 
treacherous  as  they  were  cowardly,  and  were  the  only 
Indians  that  Anza  met  on  his  long  march  whom  he 
could  not  convert  into  friends.  Therewas  war  between 
the  Comeya  and  the  Yuma,  and  two  of  the  latter  tribe 
whom  Anza  had  brought  with  him  notified  the  coman- 
dante  that  they  and  all  who  accompanied  them  would 
have  their  throats  cut.  Anza  told  the  Comeya  Indians 
that  the  war  between  them  and  the  Yumas  had 
ceased  and  that  the  tribes  were  now  friends.  This 
statement  was  apparently  accepted  and  with  the 
breaking  of  arrows   the  former  enemies   embraced 


*  The  Cienega  de  San  Sebastian  is  on  the  San  Felipe  river  near  where  the 
Carrizo  creek  joins  it,  in  Section  2,  township  12  south,  range  9  east.  It  is  a 
little  below  sea  level  and  the  water,  while  abundant,  is  brackish. 

It  must  not  be  inferred  that  a  "river"  in  Southern  California  is  necessarily 
a  stream  of  water  visible  to  the  naked  eye.  Frequently  the  flow  is  under- 
ground, except  in  times  of  freshet. 

8S 


86         The  Beginnings  of  San  Francisco 

and  assured  the  comandante  that  their  future 
excursions  into  each  other's  territory  would  be  but 
pleasure  trips. 

Remaining  at  the  cienega  until  three  o'clock  the 
next  afternoon,  March  ii,  1774,  Anza  resumed  his 
journey,  and  turning  his  back  on  the  Colorado  desert 
passed  into  the  San  Jacinto  mountains  by  the  broad 
dry  Canada*  of  the  San  Felipe  river.  His  animals 
were  very  weak  from  the  purging  caused  by  the 
alkaline  grass  and  water  of  San  Sebastian,  and 
two  of  them  died.  He  advanced  only  one  and  a 
half  leagues,  then  halted  for  the  night  where  there 
were  some  mesquite  trees,  whose  leaves  furnished 
scanty  forage  for  the  beasts.  In  this  place  were 
four  or  five  families  of  Serranos  who  informed  him 
that  the  sea  was  distant  three  days'  journey  to  the 
west,  and  that  some  of  their  relatives  near  it  had 
seen  people  like  the  Spaniards  who  lived  at  a  dis- 
tance of  five  or  six  days'  journey.  The  sea,  Anza 
inferred,  was  the  Philippine  Ocean,  and  the  people 
were  those  who  lived  at  the  Puerto  de  San  Diego. 

Before  daybreak  the  next  morning  the  march 
was  resumed  up  the  gently  ascending  caiiada  of  the 
San  Felipe,  in  a  west-northwest  direction,  and  turn- 
ing into  the  cafionf  of  Coyote  creek  they  camped 
where  there  was  running  water  of  good  quality  and 
better  grass  than  they  had  seen  since  they  had  left 


*  Canada:  a  dale  or  glen  between  mountains:  a  valley, 
t  A  canon  is  a  narrow  valley  with  more  or  less  precipitous  sides,  a  defile  or 
ravine. 


In  Coyote  Canon  87 

the  Pimeria.*  At  this  aguage  they  found  some 
sixty  Serranos  who  scattered  at  the  approach  of  the 
Spaniards.  Anza  sent  the  native  CaUfornian  after 
them  to  induce  them  to  return.  Tarabel  succeeded 
in  bringing  them  back,  and  Anza  rewarded  them  with 
presents  of  trinkets  and  tobacco;  but  the  pack-mules 
coming  up  and  scenting  the  water,  set  up  a  terrific 
braying  which  put  the  Indians  to  precipitate  flight. 
Anza  named  the  aguage  San  Gregorio  and  remained 
in  camp  the  next  day  to  give  his  sick  animals  rest. 
The  expedition  resumed  its  march  before  dawn  on 
March  13th,  continuing  up  the  canon  of  Coyote 
creek  and  camping  at  the  head  of  Borega  valley. 
Here  the  Coyote,  coming  through  a  narrow  canon 
where  its  flow  had  been  forced  to  the  surface,  again 
sinks  to  its  underground  channel.  Anza  notes  the 
good  grass  and  vines  and  trees  which  promised 
improvement  further  on.  He  named  the  aguage 
Santa  Caterina. 

Starting  two  hours  before  daybreak  the  next  morn- 
ing, they  continued  up  the  caiion,  which  now  began 
to  narrow  and  rise  sharply.  For  four  leagues  they 
followed  the  canon  of  the  Coyote,  then  turning  into 
Horse  cafion  a  sharp  climb  of  two  leagues  brought 
them  to  a  bajio  and  the  summit  of  the  San  Jacinto 
mountains,  where  they  found  good  grass  and  water. 


*  Pimeria:  the  country  of  the  Pima  Indians.  It  extends,  roughly  speaking, 
from  the  Sonora  river  to  the  Gila  east  of  the  one  hundred  and  twelfth  meridian. 
Anza  left  the  Pimeria  and  passed  into  the  Papagueria  when  he  crossed  the  Altar 
river  at  the  mission  of  Caborca,  January  22d. 


88         The  Beginnings  of  San  Francisco 

Anza  says:  "This  paraje  is  a  pass  and  I  named  it  El 
Puerto  Real  de  San  Carlos  (the  Royal  Pass  of  San 
Carlos).  From  it  may  be  discovered  some  very 
beautiful  plains,  green  and  flowery,  and  the  sierra 
nevada  with  pines,  oaks,  and  other  trees  proper 
to  cold  countries.  In  it  the  waters  are  divided, 
some  running  to  the  Gulf  and  others  to  the  Philip- 
pine Ocean.  Thus  is  it  verified  that  the  cordillera 
we  are  now  in  is  connected  with  that  of  Baja  Cali- 
fornia." This  bajio  is  Vandeventer  flat,  at  the  base 
of  Lookout  mountain,  and  its  altitude  is  about  four 
thousand,  seven  hundred  feet.  I  have  been  some- 
what particular  in  tracing  Anza's  route  across  the 
Sierra  Madre  of  California,  of  which  the  San  Jacinto 
mountains  form  a  part,  because  Bancroft,  in  his 
History  of  California,  identifies  the  pass  of  San 
Carlos  with  the  San  Gorgonio  pass,  the  route  followed 
by  the  Southern  Pacific  railroad,  and  all  subsequent 
writers  have  accepted  the  statement  and  confirmed 
the  error." 

The  Indians  met  on  this  day's  march  were  of  the 
same  appearance  and  language  as  those  of  San  Sebas- 
tian, but  were  more  impudent  in  manner  and  speech. 
Their  harangues  were  accompanied  by  movement 
of  hands  and  feet  so  violent  that  Anza  called  them 
Danzantes  (Dancers).  They  were  great  thieves  and 
Anza  says  they  could  steal  with  their  feet  as  dex- 
terously as  with  their  hands. 

That  night  it  rained  and  snowed,  and  it  was  not 
until  the  next  afternoon  that  the  expedition  started. 


La  Canada  del  Paraiso  89 

taking  its  way  over  the  divide  between  Vandeventer 
flat  and  Hemet  valley,  an  elevation  of  four  thousand 
nine  hundred  and  eighty-five  feet,  and  camped  at  a 
beautiful  lake  in  Hemet  valley  which  Anza  named 
Laguna  del  Principe.  In  crossing  the  divide  he  says 
he  found  a  fair  vein  of  silver  ore.  The  next  three 
days  he  traveled  down  the  Hemet  valley,  the  San 
Jacinto  river,  camping  on  March  19th  on  the  border 
of  a  large  and  beautiful  lake,  covered  with  white 
geese,  which  he  named  Laguna  de  San  Antonio  de 
Bucareli.  This  was  San  Jacinto  lake.  He  is  enthusi- 
astic in  his  description  of  the  beautiful  river,  the  trees, 
and  the  flowers.  The  river  he  named  San  Jose, 
and  the  San  Jacinto  valley  he  called  La  Valle  Ameno 
de  San  Jose  (The  pleasant  valley  of  San  Jose).  Into 
this  pleasant  valley  comes  the  north  fork  of  the  San 
Jacinto  river,  a  bounding,  precipitous  stream  of  such 
crystalline  beauty  that  they  named  the  gorge  down 
which  it  runs  La  Canada  del  Paraiso — the  Vale  of 
Paradise. 

The  next  day  they  reached  the  Santa  Ana  river, 
so  named  by  Portola,  July  28,  1769,  but  finding  the 
river  full  were  unable  to  cross.  Passing  down  the 
river  for  half  a  league  they  looked  in  vain  for  a  ford, 
and  at  four  o'clock  halted  to  make  a  bridge.  This 
they  finished  at  nightfall  and  rested  for  the  night. 
Crossing  the  Santa  Ana  the  next  morning  on  the 
little  bridge,  the  expedition  traveled  seven  leagues 
in  a  west-northwest  direction  along  the  base  of  the 
Sierra  Madre  and  camped  for  the  night  in  a  fertile 


90         The  Beginnings  of  San  Francisco 

valley  thickly  studded  with  poplars,  willows,  and 
alders,  on  the  bank  of  a  clear  stream  coming  down 
from  the  sierra,  which  Anza  named  Arroyo  de  los 
Osos  (Bear  creek),  having  seen  and  chased  several 
of  those  animals.  The  stream  was  San  Antonio 
creek  and  the  location  of  the  camp  was  a  little  north 
and  east  of  the  site  of  the  present  town  of  Pomona. 
A  march  of  eight  leagues  the  next  day  brought  them 
at  sunset,  March  22d,  to  the  mission  of  San  Gabriel 
where  they  were  received  by  the  padres  with  demon- 
strations of  joy,  the  ringing  of  bells,  and  the  singing 
of  the  Te  Deum. 

Tears  of  joy  filled  the  eyes  of  those  exiles  from  home 
as  they  looked  upon  these  intrepid  men  and  realized 
how  near  Sonora  really  was  to  them.  As  they  heard 
the  story  of  the  expedition,  wonder  filled  their  hearts 
at  the  marvelous  journey  made  by  such  a  handful  of 
men.  Anza  found  the  mission  on  very  short  rations, 
the  priests  and  soldiers  of  the  guard  being  allowed 
but  three  corn  cakes  per  day  which  they  eked  out 
by  wild  herbs,  each  one  seeking  for  himself;  and  of 
this  scanty  ration  of  corn  they  had  but  one  month's 
supply.  Nevertheless,  the  father  superior  of  the 
mission  offered  to  supply  Anza  with  food  until  an 
expedition  could  be  sent  to  San  Diego,  where,  the 
father  superior  had  been  informed,  a  ship,  the  Nueva 
Galicia,  had  arrived.  Giving  his  men  two  days'  rest, 
Anza  dispatched  four  soldiers  with  seven  mules  to 
San  Diego,  forty  leagues  distant,  with  a  request  to 
the  captain  of  the  ship  and  to  the  comandante  of  the 


Los  Angeles  River  91 

port  for  provisions  and  for  horses  to  enable  him  to 
continue  his  march  to  Monterey.*  The  soldiers 
returned  April  5th,  bringing  six  fanegasf  of  maize, 
half  damaged,  one  sack  of  dried  meat,  not  edible, 
one  sack  of  flour  and  two  fanegas  of  beans  which 
could  not  be  taken  because  his  troops  did  not  carry 
pots  in  which  to  boil  them.  The  horses  asked  for 
could  not  be  supplied.  As  the  provisions  would  last 
the  expedition  but  sixteen  days,  Anza  sent  the  two 
priests,  with  most  of  the  soldiers,  back  to  the  Rio 
Colorado  to  await  his  return,  and,  with  an  escort  of 
six  soldiers,  began  the  last  lap  of  his  journey,  one 
hundred  and  twenty  leagues,  to  Monterey. 

Starting  at  nine  o'clock  in  the  morning  of  April 
loth,  he  reached  the  Rio  de  la  Porciuncula  (Los 
Angeles  river), {  passed  up  the  river  into  the  San 
Fernando  valley  over  the  Santa  Susana  mountains, 
and  camped  on  the  Rio  de  Triunfo,  a  march  of  four- 
teen leagues.  The  next  day's  march  of  sixteen 
leagues  brought  him  to  the  Rio  de  la  Carpenteria 
and  the  first  rancheria  of  the  Santa  Barbara  channel. 
This  was  the  Rio  de  la  Asuncion  of  Portola  and  the 
site  of  the  future  mission  of  San  Buenaventura.     He 


*  On  March  24th,  Anza  stood  god-father  to  an  Indian  baby  baptized  by  the 
padres,  and  gave  him  his  name — ^Juan  Bautista. 

tFanega:  about  1.6  bushels. 

t  Portola  crossed  the  Los  Angeles  river  on  the  2d  of  August,  1769,  the  day 
of  the  Feast  of  Porciuncula  and  named  it  in  honor  of  the  day  Rio  de  Nuestra 
Seiiora  de  los  Angeles  de  Porciuncula.  It  is  to  this  incident  the  city  of  Los 
Angeles  owes  its  name  which  is  in  full  Nuestra  Seiiora  La  Reina  de  los  Angeles 
de  Porciuncula — Our  Lady  the  Queen  of  the  Angels  of  Porciuncula. 


92         The  Beginnings  of  San  Francisco 

also  made  sixteen  leagues  the  next  day  along  the 
Santa  Barbara  channel  and  stopped  at  the  Rancherias 
de  Mescaltitan.  The  next  day's  march  was  fifteen 
leagues  to  the  Rancheria  de  los  Pedernales.  On  the 
fourteenth  he  passed  Point  Concepcion  and  camped 
on  the  Rio  de  Santa  Rosa  (now  the  Santa  Inez)  near 
its  mouth.  He  speaks  well  of  the  channel  Indians, 
describes  their  houses,  round,  like  the  half  of  an 
orange,  their  well  built  boats  in  which  they  venture 
out  to  the  channel  islands  on  fishing  expeditions, 
their  tools  of  flint,  their  manufacture  of  baskets  and 
dishes  of  stone.  He  thinks  the  estimate  of  8,000  to 
10,000  previously  made  of  the  channel  Indians,  too 
large.  The  country  is  beautiful  and  fertile  and 
refreshing  to  eyes  accustomed  to  the  lands  bordering 
on  the  Gulf  of  California  where  there  is  nothing 
seen  of  trees  and  herbs,  while  here  the  sea  waves 
break  upon  shores  as  fertile  as  they  are  flowery. 
A  march  of  twelve  leagues  the  next  day  brought 
Anza  to  the  mission  of  San  Luis  Obispo,  where  his 
arrival  gladdened  the  hearts  of  the  missionaries. 
His  route  the  next  day  was  over  the  Cuesta  pass  of 
the  Sierra  de  Santa  Lucia  into  the  Salinas  valley, 
down  the  Salinas  river  to  the  Rio  del  Nacimiento 
where  he  camped  after  a  march  of  thirteen  leagues. 
The  next  morning  he  reached  the  mission  of  San  An- 
tonio and,  pausing  for  a  brief  rest,  pushed  on  into 
the  Salinas  valley*  by  the  Arroyo  Seco,  named  by 

*'T'he  Salinas  river  was  named  by  Portola  September  26,  1769,  Rio  de  San 
Elizario.  Later  when  the  presidio  of  Monterey  had  been  established  the 
river  came  to  be  called  Rio  de  Monterey. 


Arrival  at  Monterey  93 

Portola,  La  Canada  del  Palo  Caido — the  Valley  of 
the  Fallen  Tree — and  camped  on  the  site  where, 
in  1 79 1,  was  established  the  mission  of  Nuestro 
Senora  de  la  Soledad.  The  next  day,  April  i8th, 
a  march  of  thirteen  leagues  brought  him  to  the 
presidio  of  Monterey.  He  was  joyfully  received  by 
Don  Pedro  Pages,  comandante  of  California,  but 
found  the  garrison  in  a  sad  plight  and  much  nearer 
to  starvation  than  were  the  people  of  San  Gabriel. 
All  rejoiced  in  the  success  of  his  journey,  for  now  that 
a  road  was  opened  to  Sonora,  they  would  no  longer 
be  dependent  for  supplies  on  the  uncertain  arrival 
of  ships.  The  father  superior  and  priests  of  the 
mission  of  San  Carlos  Boromeo  de  Monterey,  in  the 
valley  of  the  Carmelo,  distant  one  league  from  the 
presidio,  called  on  the  successful  explorer  and  ex- 
tended their  congratulations  and  bade  him  welcome. 
Anza  returned  the  visit  the  following  day,  and  on 
Friday,  April  22,  1774,  set  out  on  his  return  trip, 
taking  with  him  six  of  Pages'  soldiers  to  show  them 
the  road  to  the  Rios  Gila  and  Colorado.  On  the 
sixth  day's  march  while  traveling  along  the  Santa 
Barbara  channel,  he  met  the  father  president  of  the 
California  mission.  Fray  Junipero  Serra,  who  was 
returning  from  a  visit  to  the  city  of  Mexico,  whence 
he  had  been  to  procure  the  recall  of  Pages.  At 
Junipero's  request,  Anza  spent  with  him  the  rest  of 
the  day  and  the  night  and  gave  him  an  account  of 
his   journey. 


94         The  Beginnings  of  San  Francisco 

On  reaching  San  Gabriel  Anza  sums  up  his  observa- 
tions concerning  the  people  and  the  country  of  the 
new  foundations.  He  confirms  the  reports  of  Cap- 
tains Don  Caspar  de  Portola  and  Don  Miguel  Cos- 
tanso  concerning  the  mildness  and  docility  of  the 
gentile  nations  and  says  that,  were  food  abundant, 
the  conversions  to  Christianity  would  be  greatly 
increased;  that  the  scarcity  of  food  among  many  of 
the  missions  was  due  more  to  lack  of  seed  than  any 
sterility  of  soil;  that  the  lands  produce  most  abun- 
dantly wheat,  barley,  peas,  beans,  and  other  vege- 
tables. 

On  May  3d  he  left  San  Gabriel  for  the  Rio  Colo- 
rado, returning  by  the  same  route  he  had  come,  save 
that  in  crossing  the  Colorado  desert  he  avoided  the 
long  detour  of  his  coming,  and  by  a  forced  march  of 
twenty-two  leagues  from  San  Sebastian,  reached 
Santa  Olalla  on  the  morning  of  May  9th.  On  his 
journey  eastward  to  the  Laguna  de  San  Antonio 
Bucareli  (San  Jacinto  lake)  May  4th,  he  saw  to  the 
north  of  it,  in  the  cordillera  nevada,  a  good  pass 
which  he  thought  might  be  a  direct  route  from  Sonora 
to  Monterey.  He  was  looking  into  the  opening  of 
San  Timoteo  cafion  and  the  San  Gorgonio  pass. 
After  a  rest  of  a  few  hours  Anza  continued  his  march 
up  the  valley  of  the  Colorado  and  halted  in  the  land 
of  the  Yumas  who  received  him  with  extravagant 
demonstrations  of  joy,  for  they  had  heard  reports 
that  the  expedition  had  been  destroyed  by  the  Ser- 
ranos  and  Anza  and  all  his  men  killed.     The  Yumas 


Palma  Rewarded  95 

informed  Anza  that  on  receipt  of  the  report  the 
soldiers  he  had  left  in  care  of  Captain  Palma  had 
fled  to  the  Rio  del  Altar  in  spite  of  the  remonstrances 
of  the  Yuma  chief. 

The  following  day,  May  loth,  Anza  reached  the 
junction  of  the  Colorado  and  Gila,  where  Palma  met 
him  with  much  affection  and  informed  him  that  Padre 
Garces  was  encamped  on  the  other  side  of  the  river, 
and  he,  Palma,  had  delivered  to  him  the  cattle  and 
provisions  Anza  had  left  in  his  care.  By  three  o'clock 
in  the  afternoon  Palma  had  a  raft  prepared  and  fer- 
ried the  party  over  the  river,  which,  Anza  notes,  was 
six  hundred  varas  (sixteen  hundred  and  fifty  feet) 
wide.  The  passage  of  the  river  was  safeguarded  by 
five  hundred  Yumas  swimming  beside  the  raft. 
At  five  o'clock  he  reached  the  camp  where  he  found 
Garces  and  the  troops  he  had  sent  back  from  San 
Gabriel.  Sending  the  soldiers  brought  from  Mon- 
terey back  to  their  presidio,  Anza  resumed  his  march 
May  15th,  after  praising  Palma  for  his  fidelity  and 
rewarding  him  by  giving  him  his  staff  (baton),  four 
oxen,  and  some  articles  of  dress.  He  enjoined  him 
to  keep  the  peace  with  his  neighbors  and  requested 
him  to  send  to  Altar  any  Spaniard  who  might  come 
within  his  jurisdiction.  He  then  took  his  way  up  the 
Rio  Gila,  past  the  pueblos  of  the  Papagos,  Cocomari- 
copas,  and  the  Pimas  Gileiios,  to  all  of  whom  he 
announced  the  cessation  of  wars  warning  them  to 
keep  the  peace  and  report  to  the  Spanish  presidios 
any  infraction  of  it.     Leaving  the  river  at  the  eastern 


96         The  Beginnings  of  San  Francisco 

extremity  of  the  Gila  Bend,  he  passed  up  the  valley 
of  the  Santa  Cruz  river  and  arrived  at  the  Pima 
pueblo  of  Tucson  on  May  25th.  Here  he  found 
dispatches  requesting  him  to  hasten  his  return  as 
there  was  danger  of  an  Apache  raid.  Starting  before 
dawn  the  next  morning  he  made  a  forced  march  of 
twenty  leagues  and  arrived  at  sunrise  of  the  second 
day,  May  27th,  at  his  own  presidio  of  Tubac,  and  the 
end  of  his  journey,  for  the  accomplishment  of  which 
he  gives  praise  to  the  Lord  of  Armies. 

Anza  had  conquered  the  desert  and  had  overcome 
the  natural  barriers  between  a  paternal  government 
and  its  feeble  establishments  in  distant  California. 
He  had  realized  his  cherished  dream  and  had  opened 
the  King's  Highway.  He  had  secured  for  Spain  the 
friendship  of  the  powerful  tribes  of  the  great  river, 
a  friendship  without  which,  he  says,  the  river  could 
not  be  passed.  He  was  now  to  establish  a  presidio 
and  mission  worthy  of  the  serafic  patron  and  father. 
Saint  Francis,  to  found  a  city  that,  in  the  fullness  of 
time,  was  to  dominate  the  great  ocean  and  take  its 
place  with  the  mighty  ones  of  earth. 


Chapter  VI. 

THE  FOUNDATION 
OF  SAN  FRANCISCO 
I 775-1 776 


THE  fame  of  Anza's  achievement  spread 
throughout  New  Spain.  He  received  the 
plaudits  of  his  countrymen  and  was  honored 
by  his  king.  Promoted  to  the  rank  of  lieutenant- 
colonel,  he  was  authorized  to  raise  and  equip  a  com- 
pany of  thirty  soldiers  for  the  establishment  of  a 
strong  presidio  and  mission  on  the  bay  of  San 
Francisco.  Of  the  company,  ten  were  to  be  experi- 
enced men  from  the  Sonora  presidios  and  twenty  were 
to  be  new  recruits.  All  must  be  married  men  with 
families  and  at  the  end  of  their  ten  year  enlistment 
were  to  be  given  land  and  turned  into  settlers.  In 
addition  to  the  soldiers  and  their  families,  there  were 
to  be  a  certain  number  of  families  of  settlers  (pobla- 
dores) . 

Anza  raised  the  standard  of  the  expedition  at  San 
Felipe  de  Sinaloa  with  the  rendezvous  at  San  Miguel 
de  Horcasitas,  then  the  residence  of  the  governor  of 
Sonora.  His  own  presidio  of  Tubac  was  on  the 
northern  frontier  and  contained  no  white  inhabitants 
save  the  garrison.  By  order  of  the  king  the  royal 
treasury  was  thrown  open,  the  colonists,  men,  women, 
and  children  were  clothed  from  head  to  foot  and 
from  date  of  enlistment  "ate  with  the  king."*  One 
hundred  and  forty  pack  mules  were  required  to  carry 
the  provisions,  war  material,  baggage,  and  other 
goods  and  presents  for  the  Indians  among  whom  they 
were  going.     There  were  one  hundred  and  twenty 

*  Noticias  de  la  Nueva  California.     Palou,  iv,  133. 

99 


lOO       The  Beginnings  of  San  Francisco 

horses  and  twenty-five  mules  for  the  use  of  the  troops, 
two  hundred  and  twenty  horses  belonging  to  the 
expedition  and  three  hundred  and  twenty  head  of 
beef  cattle,  altogether,  eight  hundred  and  twenty-five 
head  of  stock.  Anza  took  the  ensign,  sergeant,  and 
eight  soldiers  from  his  own  presidio  and  enlisted 
twenty  new  men.  All  were  married.  The  amount 
allowed  for  equipment  and  transportation  of  each 
family  was  eight  hundred  dollars;  this  in  addition 
to  pay.  Besides  the  soldiers  there  were  several 
families  of  pobladores.  These  also  received  pay, 
rations,  etc.  The  chaplain  of  the  expedition  was 
Fray  Pedro  Font,  and  two  priests,  Fray  Francisco 
Garces  and  Fray  Tomas  Esaire,  accompanied  the 
expedition  to  the  Rio  Colorado  where  they  were  to 
remain  to  explore  the  country  and  catechise  the 
natives  until  Anza's  return.  The  commissary  of 
the  expedition,  thirty  muleteers,  vaqueros,  interpre- 
ters, and  servants,  an  escort  of  ten  soldiers  from 
Anza's  presidio,  together  with  the  families  of  the 
soldiers  and  settlers,  made  up  in  all  a  company  of 
two  hundred  and  forty  souls,  of  whom  one  hundred 
and  sixty  were  women  and  children.  The  number 
was  increased  by  the  birth  of  eight  children  on  the 
road.  By  September  1775,  the  expedition  was 
assembled  ready  to  start  for  Tubac,  and  waiting  for 
the  arrival  of  the  escort  from  that  presidio,  for  the 
road  from  Horcasitas  to  Tubac,  infested  with  the 
plague  of  Apaches,  was  the  most  dangerous  part  of 
the  whole  journey.     As   the  escort  was   about  to 


SOLD  ADO  DE  CUERA 
Drawn  by  Walter  Francis. 


/ 


N  Francisco 

. J  ..   ..  ..lules  for  the  - .         Vip  troops, 

red  and  twenty  horses  bel  to  the 

tion  and  three  hundred  and  tv  ead  of 

cl  cattle,  altogether,  eight  hundred  an^;  i^venty-five 
ficad  of  stock.  Anza  took  the  ensign,  sergeant,  and 
ci^'ht  soldiers  from  his  own  presidio  ai^d  enlisted 
twenty  new  men.  All  were  married.  The  amount 
allowed  for  equipment  and  transportation  of  each 
family  was  eight  hundred  dollars;  this  in  addition 
to  pay.  Besides  the  soldiers  there  were  several 
families  of  pobladores.  These  also  received  pay, 
rations,  etc.  The  chaplain  of  the  expedition  was 
Fray  Pedro  Font,  and  two  priests.  Fray  Francisco 
Garces  and  Fray  IP^SilS  aBsQccajjeggpmpanied  the 
expedition  to  the  RiQ'^G^lfsra^fe  x\i^ipeB0  they  were  to 
remain  to  explore  the  country  and  catechise  the 
natives  until  Anza's  return.  The  commissary  of 
the  expedition,  thirty  muleteers,  vaquero^^  re- 

ters,  and  servants,  an  escort  of  ten  !^'  nn 

Anza's  presidio,  together  with  the  f.  ihe 

in  all  a  company  of 
tv  ioity  souls,  c       "         one  hundred 

anu  ouvLj  vv<..i^-  vv'Omen  and  chi.<.  ivn.  The  number 
was  increased  by  the  birth  of  eight  children  on  the 
road.  By  September  1775,  the  expedition  was 
assembled  ready  to  start  for  Tubac,  and  ^ 
the  arrival  of  the  escort  from  that  pr 
road  from  Horcasitas  to  Tubac,  i^^f: 
plague  of  Apaches,  was  the  most  ^ 
the  whole  journey.     As  the  esco 


^or 

J  r 

the 

1, 

the 

of 

at 

to 

March  from  Horcasitas  loi 

leave  this  outpost  for  Horcasitas  the  Apaches  de- 
scended upon  them  and  ran  off  all  their  horses.  The 
commander  at  Horcasitas  was  notified  and  sent  horses 
from  that  place  to  Tubac  for  the  use  of  the  escort. 
Anza  improved  the  time  afforded  by  this  delay  to 
increase  his  escort  but  only  succeeded  in  getting 
five  additional  soldiers  for  duty  between  these  points. 
On  September  29th  the  outfit  was  mustered  and 
inspected  and  at  4.30  in  the  afternoon  they  began 
the  long  march  of  seventy  leagues  to  Tubac.  Cross- 
ing the  Rio  de  Horcasitas  they  left  the  river  on  the 
right  and  took  a  course  north-northwest  to  the  pueblo 
of  Santa  Ana  on  the  Rio  San  Ignacio,  thence  up  the 
San  Ignacio  past  the  pueblos  of  Santa  Maria  Mag- 
dalena,San  Ignacio,  and  Imuris, — all  known  to-day — 
and  at  eight  o'clock  of  October  12th  entered  the 
dreaded  caiion  of  the  San  Ignacio.  This  was  the 
danger  point  of  the  journey  and  the  scene  of  many 
a  massacre  by  Apaches.  A  caiion  ten  miles  long,  in 
many  places  less  than  a  hundred  feet  wide,  with  walls 
rising  abruptly  to  a  height  of  five  hundred  to  eight 
hundred  feet,  invited  ambush  and  attack.  Anza  pro- 
ceeded very  slowly,  taking  precautions  against  sur- 
prise, and  safely  accomplished  thepassageinfive  hours. 
Two  more  jornadas*  of  eight  leagues  each  brought 
him  to  the  presidio  of  Tubac.  This  was  his  official 
starting  point  and  the  presidio  under  his  command. 
On  Sunday,  October  22d,  mass  was  sung  with  all 
possible    solemnity    for    the    purpose    of    invoking 

*  Jornada,  a  day's  journey. 


I02       The  Beginnings  of  San  Francisco 

divine  aid  for  the  expedition^  the  Santisima  Virgen 
de  Guadalupe  was  named  as  patroness,  with  the 
Princes  San  Miguel  and  San  Francisco  de  Asis  as 
protectors,  and  at  eleven  o'clock  the  following  morn- 
ing, Monday,  October  23,  1775,  the  journey  began. 
Of  the  personnel  of  this  expedition,  the  interest 
centers  mainly  around  the  thirty  soldiers*  who  were 
to  remain  in  California  and  become  the  first  settlers 
of  San  Francisco.  Fifteen  are  classed  as  Espanoles, 
seven  as  Mulatos,  six  as  Mestizos,  and  two  as  Indios. 
They  were  good  people,  carefully  selected,  and  they 
proved  themselves  good  soldiers  and  excellent  citi- 
zens. Anza  makes  a  public  record  of  their  faithful- 
ness and  devotion  to  king  and  country." 

Owing  to  the  lateness  of  the  season  and  the  great 
number  of  women  and  children,  Anza  would  not 
attempt  the  passage  of  the  Papagueria,  but  pre- 
ferred the  longer  and  safer  route  by  way  of  the  Santa 
Cruz  river  and  the  Gila.  The  first  day's  journey  was 
four  leagues  to  the  north  where  the  expedition 
camped  at  a  place  called  Canoa.  Here  the  wife 
of  a  soldier,  taken  with  labor  pains,  gave  birth  to  a 
boy  and  died  at  3.45  in  the  morning.  The  body  of 
the  unfortunate  woman  was  taken  by  Padre  Garces 
to  his  mission  of  San  Xavier  del  Bac,  thirteen  leagues 


*  Soldados  de  cuera,  so  called  because  of  a  sleeveless  coat  worn  by  them 
made  of  six  or  seven  thicknesses  of  dressed  deer  skins,  impervious  to  Indian 
arrows  except  at  very  short  range.  The  horse  was  also  protected,  in  part, 
by  a  leathern  apron,  fastened  to  the  pommel  of  the  saddle  and  covering  the 
breast  of  the  horse  and  the  legs  and  thighs  of  the  rider.  The  arms  were  lance 
and  shield,  carbine,  and  broadsword. 


The  March  Down  the  Gila  103 

north  of  Tubac,  for  burial.  On  October  26th  they 
were  at  Tucson  which  Anza  speaks  of  as  an  Indian 
pueblo,  containing  the  most  northerly  of  the  con- 
verted Indians.'^  Five  uneventful  jornados  brought 
them  to  the  Rio  Gila  where  a  rest  of  one  day  was 
taken  and  the  comandante  and  his  chaplain  visited 
the  famous  Casa  Grande,  of  which  Font  gives  an 
excellent  description.  On  November  ist,  the  expe- 
dition began  its  march  down  the  river.  The  order 
of  march,  as  given  by  Font,  was  as  follows:  Four 
soldiers  went  ahead  as  scouts,  Anza  led  oif  with  the 
van  guard;  after  him  came  the  priests  and  next  the 
men,  women,  and  children,  escorted  by  soldiers;  the 
ensign  brought  up  the  rear  guard.  Behind  these 
followed  the  pack  trains  with  the  loose  horses  and  beef 
cattle.  As  soon  as  the  long  column  started,  .Font 
would  strike  up  the  Alabado,*  to  which  all  the  people 
would  respond.  On  making  camp,  when  they  had 
dismounted  the  ensign  reported  and  received  his 
orders.  The  soldiers  made  shelters  with  their  cloaks 
and  blankets  and  there  were  thirteen  tents — nine  for 
the  soldiers'  families,  two  for  the  priests,  one  for 
the  ensign  and  a  big  circular  one  for  the  senor  coman- 
dante. 

As  he  passed  through  the  Pima  villages,  Anza  was 
joyfully  received  by  the  Indians  and  noted  their 
irrigation  ditches  and  the  crops  raised,  and  also, 
with  satisfaction,  that  the  peace  established  by  him 
between  the  nations  of  the  Gila  and  Colorado  had 

*  A  hymn  of  praise. 


I04       The  Beginnings  of  San  Francisco 

been  kept.  On  November  3d  he  reached  Maricopa 
Wells,  the  waters  of  which  had  such  serious  effect 
upon  both  his  people  and  animals  that  he  gave  them 
the  name  of  Las  Lagunas  de  Hospital.  So  bad  was 
the  water  that  two  of  the  women  were  taken  violently 
ill  and  were  thought  to  be  dying.  Anza  administered 
such  remedies  as  he  had  and  brought  water  from  the 
Gila,  three  leagues  distant,  for  them  to  drink.  Many 
of  the  caballerias  became  sick  also  and  two  horses 
died.  Anza  determined  to  move  the  expedition, 
though  the  women  were  still  very  111,  and  the  next 
journey  must  be  a  forced  march  across  the  Gila 
Bend,  a  desert,  without  water,  and  with  but  scanty 
feed  for  the  animals.  Starting  at  one  o'clock  in  the 
afternoon  of  November  7th,  he  passed  around  the 
southern  end  of  the  Sierra  de  Estrella  thence  west- 
southwest  towards  the  Sierra  Maricopa  and  halted 
for  the  night  before  the  Pass  of  the  Cocomaricopas. 
Resuming  the  march  in  the  morning  he  crossed  the 
mountains  by  the  above  pass  and  at  four  in  the  after- 
noon reached  the  village  of  Opas,  or  Cocomaricopas, 
called  by  him  in  1774  San  Simon  y  Judas,  having 
made  the  journey  in  fourteen  hours  of  actual  travel — 
very  good  time  with  his  sick  women  and  sick  and 
dying  horses.  Bartlett*  who  crossed  this  desert  in 
1852,  gives  a  graphic  account  of  the  passage.  From 
now  on  to  the  jurisdiction  of  the  Yumas,  Anza 
traveled  among  the  rancherias  of  the  Cocomaricopas. 
He  found  them  enjoying  the  fruits  of  the  peace  he 

*  John  Russel  Bartlett,  U.  S.  Boundary  Commissioner. 


A  Governor  of  the  Maricopas  105 

had  established  between  them  and  the  Yumas  on 
one  side  and  the  Pimas  on  the  other  and  they  gave 
him  repeated  thanks  for  the  great  service  he  had  done 
them,  for  they  could  now  dwell  on  open  ground  and 
cultivate  their  lands.  The  expedition  was  detained 
for  three  days  at  San  Simon  y  Judas  by  a  very  sick 
woman,  and  five  other  members  were  added  to  the 
sick  list,  including  the  chaplain,  Father  Font,  who 
became  very  ill  with  a  tertian  ague. 

Resuming  the  march  November  nth  they  passed 
down  the  plain  of  the  river  among  rich  cultivated 
fields  and  on  the  fourteenth  reached  Agua  Caliente* 
where  a  day's  rest  allowed  opportunity  for  doing 
family  washing.  Here  Anza  was  waited  on  by  a 
large  number  of  Maricopas — to  give  them  their 
modern  name — who  desired  him  to  appoint  a  chief 
to  rule  over  them.  Anza  conferred  on  one  of  their 
number,  selected  by  themselves,  the  title  of  governor, 
and  appointed  another  alcalde,  and  admonished 
them  to  recognize  the  king  as  their  master  and  to 
obey  all  the  orders  he  or  his  ministers  might  give 
them.  This  they  all  agreed  to  do  and  Anza  fixed 
the  bounds  of  their  jurisdiction.  Before  installing 
them  he  gave  them  the  most  precise  instructions 
concerning  their  duties  which,  he  says,  so  intimidated 
the  governor  that  for  more  than  an  hour  he  trembled 
as  if  he  had  an  ague. 

The  expedition  resumed  its  march  Thursday, 
November  i6th,  continuing  down  the  plain  of  the 

*  Hot  Water;  named  by  Anza  on  his  upward  passage  May  19,  1774. 


io6      The  Beginnings  of  San  Francisco 

river  and  passing  from  the  jurisdiction  of  the  Mari- 
copas  to  that  of  the  Yumas.  The  stops  were  usually- 
made  at  or  near  some  Indian  rancheria  which  Anza 
had  named  in  his  upward  passage  in  May  of  the  pre- 
vious year.  Everywhere  he  notes  improvement  in 
the  condition  of  the  people  and  he  cements  the  friend- 
ship established  between  them  and  the  Spaniards 
by  liberal  presents  from  the  stores  furnished  him  for 
that  purpose.  With  the  exception  of  Agua  Caliente, 
which  shows  on  the  map  on  the  north  bank  of  the 
Gila  on  the  western  border  of  Maricopa  County, 
the  names  given  by  Anza  in  this  region  have  disap- 
peared. 

From  Agua  Caliente  the  comandante  sent  forward 
four  soldiers  with  a  Yuma  interpreter  to  announce 
his  approach  to  Salvador  Palma,  captain  of  the 
Yumas,  to  select  a  place  for  crossing  the  Colorado 
river,  and  to  look  for  a  better  route  across  the  Colo- 
rado desert  from  Santa  Olalla  to  San  Sebastian.  At 
a  place  named  by  him  in  1774,  San  Pascual,  the  expe- 
dition was  detained  three  days  by  the  confinement 
of  the  wife  of  a  soldier.  The  cold  was  excessive  and 
in  four  days  six  horses  died  from  it.  On  the  twenty- 
second  Anza  resumed  his  march  and  on  the  twenty- 
seventh  Captain  Palma  with  an  escort  of  thirty 
unarmed  Indians  met  him  four  leagues  above  the 
confluence  of  the  rivers.  The  Yuma  chief  embraced 
his  friend  joyfully  and  announced  that  his  nation  and 
all  the  tribes  of  the  river  joined  him  in  the  welcome  to 
the  expedition.     Palma  had  advanced  so  far  in  civili- 


THE  TRAIL  ON  THE  GILA 
From  Bartlett's  Narrative. 


CO 

passing  from  the  jurisdictioi  Mari- 

o  that  of  the  Yumas.     The  stop^  ; dually 

..de  at  or  near  some  Indian  rancheria  wiit.h  Anza 
had  named  In  his  upward  passage  in  May  o-  =  -  pre- 
vious year.  Everywhere  he  notes  impro\  in 
the  condition  of  the  people  and  he  cements  the  friend- 
ship estabHshed  between  them  and  the  Spaniards 
by  liberal  presents  from  the  stores  furnished  him  for 
that  purpose.  With  the  exception  of  Agua  Caliente, 
which  shows  on  the  map  on  the  north  bank  of  the 
Gila  on  the  western  border  of  Maricopa  County, 
the  names  given  by  Anza  in  this  region  have  disap- 
peared. 

From  Agua  Caliente  the  comandante  sent  forward 

four  soldiers  witixj^'^ft^^o'liteffl'^gffi^  ^^  announce 
his  approach  to  .g^YiS^Q^fete^ftbi^aptain  of  the 
Yumas,  to  select  a  place  for  crossing  the  Colorado 
river,  and  to  look  for  a  better  route  across  the  Pnlo 
rado  desert  from  Santa  Olalla  to  San  Sebr>  At 

a  place  named  by  him  in  1774,  San  Pascual,  the  expe- 
dition was  detained  three  days  by  the  confinement 
of  the  wife  of  a  soldier.  The  cold  was  excessive  and 
in  four  days  six  horses  died  from  it.  On  the  twenty- 
second  Anza  resumed  his  march  and  on  the  twenty- 
seventh  Captain  Palma  with  an  escort  of  thirty 
unarmed  Indians  met  him  four  leagues  above  the 
confluence  of  the  rivers.  The  Yuma  chief  ^^  '  'ed 
his  friend  joyfully  and  announced  that  his  :  nd 

all  the  tribes  of  the  river  joined  him  in  the  \v«  Icome  to 
*he  expedition.     Palma  had  advanced  -  !  civili- 


Palma  Asks  for  Missions  107 

zation  as  to  enquire  courteously  after  the  health  of 
his  majesty,  the  king,  and  that  of  his  excellency, 
the  viceroy,  saying  that  he  was  fortunate  in  having 
seen  them  when  they  were  at  the  presidio  of  San 
Miguel*  (Horcasitas)  and  happy  in  having  heard 
them  speak  and  that  to  have  understood  what  they 
said  he  would  willingly  have  taken  off  his  ears  and 
put  on  Spanish  ones.  He  anxiously  enquired  if  the 
missions  he  had  asked  for  were  soon  to  be  established 
in  his  country,  and  said  that  to  make  himself  worthy 
of  such  a  blessing  he  had  complied  exactly  with  the 
the  order  Anza  had  given  him,  and  had  not  made  war 
on  any  nation  save  the  Serranos  on  the  west  and 
had  only  done  that  because  the  Serranos  had  attacked 
a  Spanish  mission  in  Alta  California  and  killed  some 
of  its  people.f  He  concluded  by  offering  to  the  Span- 
iards all  his  lands  in  the  name  of  his  people,  since 
all  desired  the  Spaniards  to  come  and  settle  among 
them  and  Christianize  them,  and  he  requested  that 
Anza  and  all  his  expedition  remain  with  him  until 
the  king  was  advised  of  his  petition."*  In  reply  to 
this  Anza  said  that  he  had  no  power  to  grant  such  a 
request,  but  as  his  majesty  had  sent  him  with  troops 
and  families  to  establish  a  presidio  and  two  missions 

*  Palma  had  visited  Horcasitas  to  ask  the  governor  of  Sonora  to  establish  a 
mission  on  the  Rio  Colorado.  The  diarist  does  not  state  whom  Palma  took  for 
the  king  and  viceroy. 

t  This  referred  to  the  destruction  of  the  mission  of  San  Diego  by  the  Die- 
guenos,  who,  as  well  as  those  Indians  called  by  the  diarist  Serranos,  belonged 
to  the  Comeya.  Anza  had  evidence  that  the  Serranos  of  the  San  Jacinto  moun- 
tains participated  in  the  sack  of  the  mission. 


io8       The  Beginnings  of  San  Francisco 

in  California  he  would  undoubtedly  in  due  time 
consider  Palma's  wishes.  This  satisfied  the  chief 
who  said  that  on  Anza's  return,  if  three  establish- 
ments (a  presidio  and  two  missions)  had  not  been 
made  in  his  country  he  would  accompany  Anza  to 
the  City  of  Mexico  and  make  his  demand  on  the 
viceroy.  Anza  replied  that  he  would  willingly  take 
Palma  to  Mexico,  provided  it  met  with  the  approval 
of  his  people. 

On  the  evening  of  this  day  Anza  presented  the 
chief  with  the  baton  of  authority  as  captain  of  the 
Yumas,  and  also  a  dress  the  viceroy  had  sent  him, 
consisting  of  a  shirt,  trousers,  waistcoat  yellow  in 
front  and  trimmed  with  gold,  blue  coat  laced,  and 
black  velvet  cap  adorned  with  false  gems  and  a  plume 
a  modo  de  Palma.  The  chief  was  greatly  pleased 
with  these  attentions,  as  were  his  followers,  for  the 
power  and  authority  of  Palma  were  greatly  enhanced 
by  the  favor  shown  him  by  the  Spaniards.  The 
Yumas  were  very  proud  of  the  ability  of  their  wives 
to  say  "Ave  Maria"  and  other  salutations  taught 
them  by  the  members  of  the  former  expedition,  and 
were  covered  with  shame  at  the  recollection  of  the 
naked  condition  in  which  they  had  then  presented 
themselves. 

On  the  following  day  a  march  of  four  hours 
brought  the  expedition  to  the  confluence  of  the  Rios 
Gila  and  Colorado.  Crossing  the  Gila  by  a  good  ford 
they  reached  the  rancheria  of  Captain  Palma — San 
Dionisio  of  Father  Kino — where  they  were  hospitably 


A  Ford  of  the  Colorado  109 

entertained  by  the  Yumas  who  brought  them  beans, 
calabashes,  maize,  and  other  grains  in  abundance, 
and  very  many  water-melons.  Here  came  the  scouts 
sent  out  from  Agua  Caliente  to  find  a  better  route 
across  the  Colorado  desert,  and  reported  that  though 
they  had  spent  six  days  in  the  survey  they  could  find 
no  other  watering  places  (aguages),  than  those 
indicated  in  the  route  of  the  previous  expedition; 
nor  could  they  find  any  trails  or  footprints  of  men  or 
beasts  save  those  noted  thereon.  The  Indians  in- 
formed Anza  that  there  was  no  ford  to  the  Rio 
Colorado,  and  when  he  ordered  a  raft  made  said  that 
it  was  impossible  to  cross  in  that  manner  owing  to 
the  coldness  of  the  water,  the  Indians  having  to  swim 
and  guide  the  raft.  He,  however,  persisted  in  making 
the  raft,  and  at  seven  o'clock  the  next  morning 
mounted  his  horse  and  accompanied  by  a  coura- 
geous soldier  and  a  Yuma  went  in  search  of  a  ford. 
He  spent  the  forenoon  in  testing  the  river  at  various 
points,  both  he  and  his  companions  submerging 
themselves  and  their  horses  in  the  icy  waters,  and 
at  one  o'clock  in  the  afternoon  found  a  place  where 
the  river  was  divided  into  three  branches  and  could 
be  forded.  Here  he  would  attempt  the  passage  and 
returning  to  the  camp  sent  a  party  of  axemen  to 
open  a  road  to  the  ford  through  the  dense  forest 
growth  of  the  river  bottom.  At  seven  in  the  morning 
of  November  30th  the  expedition  moved  up  to  the 
ford,  about  a  quarter  of  a  league  above  the  camp. 
The  pack-trains  were  brought  up  and  the  freight  and 


no       The  Beginnings  of  San  Francisco 

baggage  were  sent  over  in  half  loads.  The  women 
and  children  were  placed  on  the  tallest  and  strongest 
horses,  each  led  by  the  head  strap  and  each  accom- 
panied by  ten  men  on  the  lower  side  for  rescue  in 
case  of  a  fall.  Thus  the  passage  was  made  in  safety 
with  nothing  more  serious  than  a  wetting,  for  the 
water  was  but  little  over  four  feet  in  the  deepest 
part  and  about  eight  hundred  and  fifty  feet  wide. 
One  reckless  rider  who  was  carrying  a  child  was 
swept  from  his  horse,  but  both  were  instantly  rescued. 
Font,  who  was  sick  and  dizzy,  was  held  on  his  horse 
by  a  servant  on  either  side,  while  a  third  led  the 
animal.  He  got  wet  to  the  knees.  Garces  was 
carried  over  on  the  shoulders  of  three  Yumas,  two 
by  his  head  and  one  by  his  feet,  stretched  out  stiff, 
face  upward,  like  a  corpse.  By  one  o'clock  in  the 
afternoon  the  first  settlers  of  San  Francisco  were 
on  California  soil. 

Building  a  hut  (barraca)  on  the  bank  of  the  river 
for  the  two  priests  who  were  to  remain,  Anza  pre- 
pared to  resume  his  journey  when  he  was  informed 
that  two  more  of  his  people  were  added  to  the  sick 
list  and  were  so  desperately  ill  that  the  sacrament  of 
penitence  had  been  administered  to  them.  Hasten- 
ing to  their  relief,  he  applied  such  remedies  as  he 
had,  but  it  was  not  until  the  fourth  day  that  he  could 
again  take  up  the  march. 

Settling  the  padres  in  their  abode  with  an  inter- 
preter and  three  servants,  one  of  whom  was  Sebastian 
Tarabel  who  had  accompanied  the  first  expedition. 


Laguna  de  Santa  Olalla  hi 

Anza  provided  them  with  horses  and  four  months' 
supply  of  provisions,  and  committing  them  to  the 
care  of  Palma,  began  his  march  down  the  plain  of  the 
Colorado  on  the  morning  of  December  4th.  The 
route  was  a  toilsome  one,  so  overgrown  with  brush 
that  in  many  places  only  a  narrow  trail  could  be  found. 
It  was  so  difficult  to  get  the  cattle  through  this  cha- 
parral that  they  remained  more  than  a  league  behind. 
That  night  he  camped  at  the  Cerro  de  San  Pablo 
(Pilot  Knob)  near  the  present  boundary  line.  The 
cold  was  so  great  that  two  horses  died  and  the  sick 
list  was  increased  to  eleven.  In  the  morning  the 
march  was  resumed  in  a  southerly  direction  with 
frequent  detours  to  avoid  the  forest  and  the  crooked 
branches  of  the  river  channel.  After  an  advance 
of  three  leagues,  camp  was  made  at  the  Laguna  de  los 
Cojas.  The  sacrament  of  penitence  was  adminis- 
tered this  night  to  one  of  the  sick  who  was  thought 
to  be  dying.  The  next  day  they  reached  the  Laguna 
de  Santa  Olalla  where  they  were  to  rest  and  prepare 
for  the  most  difficult  portion  of  their  journey:  the 
passage  of  the  Colorado  desert.  The  Indians  of 
Santa  Olalla  received  them  hospitably  and  gave  them 
great  quantities  of  fish  from  the  lake,  and  grains 
and  fruits,  including  more  than  two  thousand  water- 
melons which  they  were  obliged  to  leave  behind. 
Mindful  of  the  dangers  of  the  previous  journey, 
Anza  divided  the  expedition  into  three  parts,  to 
start  on  different  days  that  all  might  not  arrive  at  the 
wells  the  same  day.     The  first  division  was  under 


112       The  Beginnings  of  San  Francisco 

his  own  command;  the  second  he  placed  in  charge 
of  Sergeant  Grijalva,  and  the  third  was  under  com- 
mand of  Ensign  Moraga.  The  beef  herd  he  sent  by 
a  separate  road  in  charge  of  vaqueros,  for  the  cattle 
were  so  wild  they  could  not  be  watered  from  buckets, 
but  must  go  from  the  Pozos  del  Carrizal  to  San  Sebas- 
tian, a  distance  of  fifty  miles,  without  water  or  pas- 
ture. The  vaqueros,  muleteers,  and  troopers  were 
ordered  to  carry  maize  and  grass  for  the  animals. 
At  9.30  on  the  morning  of  December  9th,  the  first 
division  began  the  march.  It  reached  the  Pozos 
del  Carrizal  at  half-past  two  in  the  afternoon,  and 
found  the  water  abundant,  though  bad.  Font,  who 
was  with  the  first  division,  called  the  aguage  El 
Poso  Salobre  del  Carrizal — the  brackish  well  of  the 
Carrizal — and  denounced  it  as  a  dreadful  stopping 
place,  without  pasture  and  with  very  bad  water. 
The  next  day  after  giving  the  animals  all  the  water 
they  would  take,  they  resumed  the  march  and 
traveled  about  five  leagues  in  a  west-northwest  direc- 
tion, and  camped  for  the  night  in  a  deep  dry  water- 
course where  there  was  a  little  firewood,  but  neither 
water  nor  pasture.  The  camp  was  in  the  bed  of  the 
New  river  about  a  mile  below  the  boundary  line. 
The  cold  was  intense.  At  three  o'clock  in  the  morning 
the  caballerias  were  fed  with  grain,  and  at  daybreak 
began  a  forced  march  of  ten  leagues  in  a  westerly 
direction,  reaching  Los  Pozos  de  Santa  Rosa  de  las 
Lajas  at  night.  Anza  had  sent  men  in  advance  with 
tools  to  open  the  wells,  but  he  found  them  much  be- 


ClENEGA   DE    SaN    SeBASTIAN  II3 

hind  hand  with  the  work.  He  set  himself  personally 
to  the  task,  but  so  slowly  did  the  water  distill  that 
it  was  ten  o'clock  before  he  was  able  to  give  water  to 
any  of  the  beasts.  The  night  was  cruelly  cold; 
they  had  no  fuel,  and  in  the  darkness  none  could  be 
found.  It  was  two  o'clock  in  the  morning  before  the 
last  thirsty  animal  had  relief,  but  not  till  the  next 
forenoon  was  the  herd  satisfied.  At  12.30  they 
resumed  the  march,  laying  their  course  in  a  northerly 
direction  with  a  slight  inclination  to  the  west.  A 
fierce  cold  wind  from  the  north  distressed  them  and 
impeded  their  progress.  They  made  four  leagues 
and  camped  at  a  place  where  there  was  a  small 
quantity  of  firewood — very  necessary  on  account 
of  the  cold.  At  daylight  they  saw  the  high  moun- 
tains on  their  left  covered  with  snow;  the  cold  wind 
continued,  causing  much  distress  to  the  women 
and  children,  and  to  increase  their  discomfort  it 
began  to  snow.  At  nine  o'clock  they  took  up  the 
march,  traveling  in  the  same  general  direction  for 
five  and  a  half  leagues,  then  due  north  one  and  a 
half  leagues  more,  and  arrived  at  3.30  in  the  after- 
noon at  the  Cienega  de  San  Sebastian.  The  weather 
had  calmed  somewhat  and  in  the  clearer  atmosphere 
they  saw  the  Sierra  Madre,  through  which  they  must 
pass,  so  filled  with  snow  that  they  marveled  that  so 
much  could  be  gathered  together.  Anza  caused  the 
people  to  gather  all  the  firewood  possible;  this  was 
but  little,  while  at  five  o'clock  the  cold  wind  began 
again   with   great  force   and   continued   throughout 


114       The  Beginnings  of  San  Francisco 

the  night.  At  daylight  it  began  to  snow,  and  Anza 
determined  to  wait  in  camp  the  arrival  of  the  two 
divisions  that  were  to  follow.  At  twelve  o'clock  the 
cattle  arrived,  four  days  from  Los  Pozos  del  Carrizal 
without  water,  and  with  the  loss  of  ten  oxen.  Though 
taken  to  the  edge  of  the  pool,  most  of  them  refused 
to  drink  the  brackish  water  and  began  eating  the 
alkali  whitened  grass.  All  day  Anza  waited  the 
arrival  of  the  second  division.  All  day  the  bitter 
wind  continued  and  the  snow  fell  until  plain  and 
mountain  were  alike  covered.  At  eleven  o'clock  in 
the  night  the  snow  ceased  and  a  pitiless  frost  followed 
from  which  the  people  suffered  greatly  and  six 
oxen  and  one  mule  died.  The  morning  of  the  fif- 
teenth dawned  clear  and  cold,  with  the  snow  that 
had  fallen  the  preceding  night  well  hardened  by  the 
frost  that  followed.  At  12.15  ^he  second  division 
under  Sergeant  Grijalva  arrived,  badly  crippled  by 
the  storm  which  had  caught  them  between  the  wells 
of  Santa  Rosa  and  San  Sebastian.  Many  of  the 
people  were  badly  frost-bitten,  one  barely  escaped 
death,  and  they  had  lost  five  caballerias  from  the 
cold.  The  frost  continued  severe  and  four  more 
oxen  died  that  night.  The  next  morning  Anza  was 
informed  that  the  Serranos  had  run  off  some  of  his 
caballerias  during  the  night.  The  sergeant  and  four 
soldiers  were  dispatched  in  pursuit  and  instructed  to 
recover  the  animals  without  harming  the  Indians 
unless  the  latter  showed  fight,  but  to  warn  them  that 
a  second  offence  would  be  severely  punished.     All 


WibcKkVOOD) 


M      Pr^E      B   \l      A       L 


(oELCENrTO> 

V     A      L     l'V.^    Y 

o(HEBEI!) 


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MAR.7o(  

\ — (MEX 


fcALEXicoJ -) — ^v.-^s  line; 


, b-55a-^^''">^  "*      M* 


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1 


THE1R0UTE>CR0SS  THE  COLORADO  DESERT 
Specially  drawn  for  this  work. 


v;-^ 


^SAIfTAOLAUA  , 


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r 


Passage  of  the  San  Jacinto  115 

day  long  they  waited  for  the  third  division.  In  the 
evening  the  sergeant  returned  with  the  stolen  ani- 
mals. He  had  found  them  in  charge  of  the  women 
in  two  different  rancherias,  the  men  having  disap- 
peared. At  seven  the  next  morning  the  commander 
sent  soldiers  with  twenty  horses  to  the  relief  of  the 
distressed  rear  guard,  and  at  3.30  in  the  afternoon 
it  came  in.  Upon  them  the  storm  had  fallen  with 
fury  and  the  driving  snow  had  stampeded  most  of 
their  horses.  Four  horses  had  died  from  the  cold, 
and  the  ensign  with  the  greatest  difficulty  had  saved 
the  lives  of  his  men.  His  exposure  in  caring  for  the 
people  had  brought  on  an  earache  so  severe  that  it 
made  him,  for  a  time,  totally  deaf.'^ 

Two  more  oxen  died  this  day  from  the  cold,  but 
Anza  notes  a  general  improvement  in  the  health  of 
the  command,  and  notwithstanding  the  exposure,  his 
sick  list  is  reduced  from  fifteen  to  five.  He  gives 
credit  for  this  to  the  many  water-melons  the  people 
ate  at  Santa  Olalla. 

On  the  following  day,  December  18,  1775,  Anza  pre- 
pared to  resume  his  march  and  begin  the  passage  of 
the  Cordillera.  Three  oxen  died  from  cold  and  ex- 
haustion in  the  morning,  and  five  more,  unable  to 
move  with  the  band  were  killed,  and  the  beef  dried 
and  salted,  though  hardly  eatable  by  reason  of  its 
smell,  taste,  and  color.  At  i  :30  in  the  afternoon  the 
expedition  moved  up  the  broad  caiiada  of  the  San 
Felipe  river  and  traveled  three  and  a  half  leagues. 
The  next  day  they  made  four  leagues  to  San  Gre- 


ii6       The  Beginnings  of  San  Francisco 

gorio,  in  Coyote  canon,  where  the  water  in  the  wells 
was  insufficient  for  the  cattle  and  the  cold  was  so 
intense  that  each  day  many  of  the  cattle  and  cabal- 
lerias,  weakened  by  the  hardships  of  the  journey, 
died.  The  cold  this  night  was  so  great  that  the 
people  dared  not  sleep,  and  three  caballerias  and  five 
oxen  were  frozen.  At  seven  in  the  morning  the 
commander  was  notified  that  many  of  the  cattle, 
driven  by  thirst,  had  escaped  from  their  keepers. 
Sending  the  sergeant  with  three  soldiers  and  a 
vaquero  to  look  for  them  he  moved  forward  to  the 
sink  of  the  Santa  Catarina  (Coyote  creek),  the  site 
of  the  camp  of  March  13,  1774.  Here  he  proposed 
to  give  rest  to  his  tired  caballerias,  which,  he  says, 
have,  like  the  cattle,  dried  up  and  become  so  thin 
that  they  could  not  be  recognized  for  the  beasts  that 
began  the  march.  In  this  day's  march  the  loss  in 
cattle  and  horses  was  very  heavy.  In  the  afternoon 
of  the  second  day  the  sergeant  returned  with  a  few 
of  the  cattle  and  reported  a  loss  of  fifty  head,  suffo- 
cated in  the  mud  of  the  Cienega  de  San  Sebastian. 
Anza  was  greatly  distressed  at  this  mishap  which  had 
cost  him  so  dear,  in  spite  of  all  his  care.  A  few  miser- 
able Indians  came  into  camp  and  were  fed  by  the 
Spaniards.  The  morning  of  December  23d  began 
with  a  rain  storm,  but  the  rain  ceased  at  nine  o'clock 
and  the  expedition  resumed  its  march  up  the  canon 
of  the  Coyote.  Two  short  jornadas  brought  them 
on  the  twenty-fourth  to  the  rancheria  of  the  Dan- 
zantes.     They  were  halted  here  by  the  sickness  of 


The  Pass  of  San  Carlos  117 

one  of  the  women,  and  ten  o'clock  that  night  she  was 
happily  delivered  of  a  boy.  Anza  makes  record  that 
"she  is  the  third  who  has  done  this  thing  between 
Tubac  and  this  place.  Besides  these  there  have 
been  two  other  births,  that,  with  the  other  three  that 
happened  on  the  march  to  San  Miguel  de  Horcasitas 
make  a  total  of  eight,  all  in  the  open  air. "  Owing  to 
this  affair  Christmas  was  passed  quietly  in  camp 
but  on  the  following  morning,  the  sick  woman  having 
courage  for  the  march,  the  command  moved  forward 
and  after  a  hard  climb  of  about  five  hours,  passing 
through  Horse  caiion,  arrived  at  two  in  the  after- 
noon at  the  Royal  Pass  of  San  Carlos  where  a  halt 
was  necessary  on  account  of  the  rain.  Here  they 
had  a  thunderstorm  followed  by  an  earthquake. 
Five  leagues  of  travel  the  next  day  carried  them  to 
San  Patricio,  the  beginning  of  San  Jacinto  river. 
From  this  point  Anza  sent  three  soldiers  of  his  escort 
to  the  missions  of  California  and  to  the  comandante, 
Don  Fernando  de  Rivera  y  Moncada,  advising  them 
of  the  probable  time  of  the  arrival  of  the  expedition, 
its  condition,  and  the  necessity  of  furnishing  him 
with  horses.  He  also  expressly  requested  that  on 
the  arrival  of  the  expedition  at  Monterey,  the  coman- 
dante be  prepared  to  accompany  him  to  the  survey 
of  the  Rio  de  San  Francisco  as  ordered  by  the  viceroy. 
From  the  summit  of  the  cordillera  the  poor  people 
looked  with  dismay  upon  range  after  range  of  moun- 
tains filled  with  snow.     To  the  west,  those  towards 


Ii8       The  Beginnings  of  San  Francisco 

the  South  Sea,*  as  well  as  those  extending  into  Baja 
California,  all  were  so  covered  that  only  a  few  trees 
on  their  summits  could  be  seen.  Coming  from  a  hot 
climate  few  of  them  had  ever  seen  such  a  thing,  and 
so  terrible  did  the  sight  appear  that  some  began  to 
weep,  saying  that  if  here  so  many  animals  died  from 
the  cold  and  they  themselves  barely  escaped  the  same 
fate,  what  would  happen  to  them  in  the  north  where 
the  snow  would  be  so  much  more  plentiful?!  The 
commander  comforted  their  hearts  by  telling  them 
that  as  they  approached  the  sea  the  cold  would  dimin- 
ish and  the  journey  would  be  easy  and  comfortable. 
The  next  day  they  were  obliged  to  remain  in  camp 
for  between  the  cold  and  the  damp  the  invalid  was 
much  worse  and  was  threatened  with  convulsions. 
Responding  to  the  treatment  given,  the  sick  woman 
obtained  relief  during  the  day  and  night  and  on 
December  29th,  the  expedition  moved  forward  and 
traveling  six  leagues  down  the  cafiada  camped  in  the 
Valle  Ameno  de  San  Jose.  The  following  day  they 
marched  down  the  spacious  and  beautiful  valley  and 
camped  at  the  Laguna  de  San  Antonio  de  Bucareli. 
A  long  march  of  seven  leagues  the  next  day  brought 
them  to  the  Santa  Ana  river,  which  on  inspection 
proved  to  be  unfordable.     Anza  was  obliged  to  build 


*  The  Pacific  Ocean  was  usually  called  the  South  Sea.  Father  Font's  map  has 
it"MardelSur." 

tit  is  difficult  foronewho  is  not  a  Californian  to  realize  how  little  the  latitude 
has  to  do  with  the  climate  of  California.  On  the  coast  the  same  temperature 
practically  rules  without  regard  to  latitude,  and  in  the  interior,  the  northern 
citrus  belt,  six  hundred  miles  north  of  Los  Angeles,  produces  the  earliest  oranges 


Destruction  of  San  Diego  Mission      119 

a  bridge  to  get  his  people  over,  and  it  was  twelve 
o'clock  the  following  day  before  this  was  completed. 
The  women  and  children  were  passed  over  first,  and 
then  the  rest  of  the  people  and  the  baggage.  The 
animals  had  to  swim  for  it  and  one  horse  and  one  ox 
were  swept  away  and  drowned.  By  three  o'clock 
the  passage  was  completed  and  they  camped  for  the 
night  of  January  ist,  1776,  on  the  western  bank  of 
the  river. '^  The  three  soldiers  Anza  had  sent  to 
the  mission  of  San  Gabriel  December  27th,  now 
came  to  report,  bringing  eleven  horses  from  the 
padres  and  a  message  from  the  corporal  commanding 
the  mission  guard,  to  the  effect  that  the  Indians  had 
risen  against  the  mission  of  San  Diego,  killed  one  of 
the  priests  and  two  of  the  servants,  wounded  the 
soldiers  and  burned  the  mission  buildings.  The 
Indians,  the  corporal  said,  were  gathering  in  the 
vicinity  of  San  Gabriel  and  threatened  an  attack. 
He  had  sent  word  to  the  comandante,  Captain  Rivera, 
at  Monterey,  and  was  expecting  that  officer  at  San 
Gabriel. 

In  the  morning  Anza  sent  two  soldiers  forward 
to  the  mission  to  announce  his  approach  and  taking 
up  his  march  advanced  through  a  heavy  rain  storm, 
intermingled  with  snow,  as  far  as  the  site  of  the 
present  town  of  Pomona,  camping  on  San  Antonio 
creek.  The  next  day  they  made  five  leagues  through 
the  heavy  mud  to  the  San  Gabriel  river,  and  the 
following  morning  at  eleven  o'clock  of  January  4, 
1776,  entered  the  mission  of  San  Gabriel  Arcangel, 


I20       The  Beginnings  of  San  Francisco 

seventy-three  days  from  Tubac.  Here  Anza  met 
Captain  Don  Fernando  Rivera  y  Moncada,  who 
had  come  the  previous  day.  Rivera  laid  before 
Anza  the  particulars  of  the  revolt  at  San  Diego  and 
requested  the  loan  of  his  troops  to  suppress  the 
rebellion  and  pacify  the  country.  The  entire  mili- 
tary establishment  of  California  at  this  time  (without 
counting  Anza's  troops)  consisted  of  Comandante 
Rivera,  one  lieutenant,  two  ensigns,  two  sergeants, 
eight  corporals,  fifty-four  soldiers,  one  armorer,  and 
one  drummer,  a  total  of  seventy-one.  This  force  was 
scattered  over  a  coast  line  of  four  hundred  and  twenty 
miles,  guarding  two  presidios  and  five  missions. 

Rivera  had  brought  with  him  from  Monterey 
a  force  of  ten  soldiers  and  with  two  more,  taken  from 
the  San  Gabriel  escolta,  proposed  to  put  down  an 
insurrection  in  which  from  eight  hundred  to  one 
thousand  savages  were  already  engaged  and  which 
threatened  to  unite  the  entire  Comeya  in  an  effort 
to  expel  the  Spaniards.  This  incident  reminds  one 
of  the  heroes  of  the  Long  Sault  in  Canada  when 
seventeen  devoted  young  Frenchmen  checked  the 
invasion  of  more  than  seven  hundred  Iroquois;  only 
the  comparison  between  the  fierce  Iroquois  and  the 
cowardly  Dieguenos  will  hardly  hold.  Rivera  told 
Anza  that  he  doubted  if  the  force  he  had  with  him 
was  sufficient  to  inflict  the  necessary  punishment 
upon  the  perpetrators  of  the  outrage  at  San  Diego 
and  he  had  information  that  the  Indians  were  uniting 
for  a  further  attack  upon  the  Spaniards. 


The  March  for  Monterey  Resumed     121 

Anza  gave  Rivera's  request  careful  consideration 
and  believing  he  would  be  justified  in  stopping  to 
assist  him,  gave  consent  to  the  proposition  and  vol- 
unteered to  serve  under  him  in  the  expedition  against 
the  savages.  His  oflfer  was  accepted,  and  taking 
seventeen  of  his  veteran  troopers,  joined  to  the 
twelve  under  Rivera,  they  set  out,  January  7th 
for  San  Diego,  forty  leagues  distant,  leaving  the 
expedition  at  San  Gabriel  under  command  of  Moraga, 
whose  commission  as  lieutenant  {teniente)  was  re- 
ceived here.  We  will  not  follow  Anza  on  this  march. 
Nothing  was  accomplished  so  far  as  punishment  to 
the  perpetrators  of  the  outrage  was  concerned, 
and  Anza,  in  disgust  with  the  dilatory  tactics  of 
Rivera,  resolved  to  proceed  with  his  journey.  He 
returned  therefore  to  San  Gabriel  where  he  found 
that  a  soldier  of  the  mission  guard  together  with 
three  muleteers  and  a  servant  of  Sergeant  Grijalva 
had,  the  night  before  he  arrived,  deserted  and  carried 
off  twenty-five  of  the  best  horses  of  the  expedition 
and  of  the  mission,  together  with  a  lot  of  his  stores. 
He  at  once  dispatched  Moraga  with  ten  soldiers 
in  pursuit  of  the  deserters,  and  after  waiting  eight 
days  for  his  return,  resumed  his  march  February 
2 1  St,  leaving  orders  for  Moraga  to  follow.  For 
Rivera's  assistance  he  left  twelve  of  his  soldiers 
including  Sergeant  Grijalva,  all  of  whom  joined 
their  comrades  at  Monterey  before  June  17,   1776. 

The  incessant  rains  of  a  very  wet  season  had  made 
travel  slow  and  difficult  for  the  laden  mules,   and 


122       The  Beginnings  of  San  Francisco 

marching  in  a  westerly  direction,  Anza  passed 
through  what  is  now  the  city  of  Los  Angeles,  crossed 
the  Rio  Porciuncula  (Los  Angeles  river),  and  came 
through  the  Cahuenga  pass  into  the  San  Fernando 
valley.  He  camped  for  the  night  in  the  mouth  of 
the  pass,  which  he  calls  Puertezuelo  (Little  Gate). 
Resuming  the  march  the  next  morning  the  expedition 
traveled  along  the  southern  border  of  the  San  Fer- 
nando valley  and  halted  in  the  canon  of  the  Rio  de 
las  Virgenes  at  a  spring  called  by  Anza  Agua  Escon- 
dida,  now  known  as  Agua  Amarga  (Bitter  Water). 
The  next  day's  march  was  a  long  and  difficult  one 
of  nine  leagues,  over  the  Susanna  mountains,  the 
descent  of  which  (Liberty  hill)  was  so  steep  that  the 
women  were  obliged  to  dismount  and  accomplish 
it  on  foot.  Passing  into  the  Santa  Clara  valley 
they  camped  on  the  river  of  that  name,  near  the 
present  village  of  Saticoy.  A  march  of  two  leagues 
in  a  dense  fog  the  next  morning  brought  them  to 
La  Asuncion,  the  first  rancheria  of  the  channel 
Indians,  and  the  site  of  Anza's  camp  of  April  il, 
1775.  Portola  reached  this  rancheria,  August  14, 
1769,  the  vespers  of  the  feast  of  La  Asuncion  de 
Nuestro  Senora,  and  gave  it  that  name.  It  was 
then  decided  to  establish  on  this  site  the  mission  of 
San  Buenaventura,  and  Anza  on  his  return  march 
camped  again  on  the  site  April  26,  1776.  He  then 
calls  the  river  Rio  de  San  Buenaventura.  Continu- 
ing his  march  along  the  Santa  Barbara  channel, 
Anza  camped  for  the  night  at  the  Rancheria  del 


On  the  Site  of  Santa  Barbara  123 

Rincon,  on  the  Arroyo  del  RIncon,  the  boundary- 
line  between  Ventura  and  Santa  Barbara  counties. 
The  Indians  brought  them  an  abundant  supply  of 
good  fish,  and  among  them  Anza  named  sardines, 
obadas,  and  tangres,  more  than  a  third  of  a  vara 
long,  not  counting  the  tail. 

A  march  of  seven  leagues  the  next  day  brought 
the  expedition  to  the  Rancherias  de  Mescaltitan, 
four  large  Indian  villages  around  the  shore  of  an 
estero  or  lake,  while  on  an  island  in  the  midst  was 
one  larger  still,  consisting  of  more  than  one  hundred 
houses.  On  the  march  this  day  they  passed  through 
three  large  rancherias,  one  situated  on  a  lake  of 
fresh  water,  named  by  Portola,  La  Laguna  de  la 
Concepcion,  is  the  site  of  the  city  of  Santa  Barbara. 
When  Governor  Neve  was  about  to  establish  the 
presidio  and  mission  of  Santa  Barbara  in  1782, 
he  hesitated  between  the  site  of  Mescaltitan  and 
that  of  La  Laguna,  but  decided  in  favor  of  the  latter 
because  the  water  was  of  better  quality.'^  The 
rancherias  of  Mescaltitan  have  all  disappeared, 
but  the  island  still  preserves  the  name.'^ 

The  following  day  they  passed  through  five  ran- 
cherias, all  abounding  with  iish,  and  finished  the 
day's  journey  at  Rancheria  Nueva.  Four  more 
rancherias  were  passed  the  next  day,  February  27th, 
and  camp  made  at  the  Rancheria  del  Cojo,  just  east 
of  Point  Concepcion.  When  Portola  reached  this 
village  August  26,  1769,  he  was  graciously  received 
by  the  chief  who,  being   lame,   was   called   by   the 


124       The  Beginnings  of  San  Francisco 

soldiers  "El  Cojo"  (The  lame  one)  thus  giving  a 
name  for  the  chief  and  his  rancheria.  Crespi,  priest 
and  diarist  for  the  expedition,  "baptized"  the 
village  with  the  name  of  Santa  Teresa,  but  El  Cojo 
was  the  name  that  stuck  and  it  may  be  seen  to-day 
on  the  county  maps.  The  next  morning  the  expedi- 
tion finished  the  Santa  Barbara  channel  and  turning 
Point  Concepcion,  proceeded  to  the  mouth  of  the 
Rio  de  Santa  Rosa  (now  Santa  Inez)  where  they 
camped  for  the  night. 

Anza  remained  in  camp  on  the  Rio  de  Santa  Rosa 
until  the  falling  tide  enabled  him  to  cross,  and  in 
the  afternoon  of  February  29th,  continued  the 
northerly  march  along  Burton  Mesa,  in  sight  of  the 
ocean,  and  came  in  three  leagues  of  travel  to  a  little 
lake  named  La  Laguna  Graciosa  where  they  camped 
for  the  night.  The  map  of  the  Geological  survey 
does  not  show  any  lake  in  this  vicinity  and  it  has 
possibly  disappeared.  It  may  have  been  formed  by 
the  San  Antonio  creek  which  here  flows  into  the  sea. 
The  name  is  perpetuated  by  the  Canada  de  la  Gra- 
ciosa through  which  the  Pacific  Coast  railroad  runs 
and  by  Graciosa  station  at  the  mouth  of  the  caiion. 
Three  leagues  of  travel  the  next  morning  brought 
them  into  a  wide  and  beautiful  valley  containing  a 
large  lake,  named  by  Portola  La  Laguna  Larga  de 
los  Santos  Martires,  San  Daniel  y  sus  Compafieros — 
The  Great  Lake  of  the  sainted  Martyrs,  St.  Daniel 
and  his  Companions — now  known  as  Lake  Guada- 
lupe, situated  in  the  northwestern  corner  of  Santa 


San  Luis  Obispo  125 

Barbara  county.  Anza  did  not  halt  at  Lake  Guada- 
lupe but  pushed  on  to  the  mouth  of  the  San  Luis 
canon,  a  long  Jornada  of  nine  leagues,  to  the  Ran- 
cheria  del  Buchon. 

A  march  of  three  and  a  half  leagues  the  next 
morning  brought  the  expedition  to  the  mission  of 
San  Luis  Obispo,  founded  in  1772,  and  now  a  flour- 
ishing town  of  3500  inhabitants.  In  anticipation 
of  their  arrival  at  the  mission  the  colonists  had 
smartened  themselves  up  but  disaster  overtook 
them.  Just  before  they  reached  the  mission  they 
fell  into  a  marsh  so  miry  that  all  had  to  dismount 
and  make  their  way  across  it  as  best  they  could. 
The  men  had  to  relieve  the  pack  animals  and  carry 
the  baggage  on  their  shoulders,  while  those  who 
endeavored  to  preserve  their  finery  by  forcing  their 
horses  through  the  mire  fared  worse  than  the  rest, 
being  obliged  to  dismount  and  extricate  their  horses. 
The  marsh  which  caused  such  distress  was  located 
in  what  is  now  the  southern  part  of  the  town  of 
San  Luis  Obispo,  and  one  of  the  finest  residence 
streets  of  the  town  to-day  is  Marsh  street.  It  was 
the  same  marsh  that  entrapped  the  Portola  expedition 
on  the  Fiesta  de  los  Santos  Inocentes. 

There  was  great  joy  in  the  mission  of  San  Luis 
Obispo  over  the  arrival  of  the  expedition.  Not 
only  was  it  a  delight  to  the  priests  and  the  soldiers 
of  the  escolta  to  see  so  many  Spanish  faces  and  hear 
the  news  from  home,  but  they  had  been  badly 
frightened  by  the  affair  at  San  Diego,  and  had  been 


126       The  Beginnings  of  San  Francisco 

informed  by  the  Indians  that  they  were  to  be  next 
attacked,  and  that  Anza  had  been  killed  and  his 
expedition  totally  destroyed  by  the  tribes  of  the 
Colorado. 

Sunday,  March  3rd,  was  given  to  rest,  and  on 
Monday  morning  the  march  was  resumed.  Travel- 
ing up  the  canon  of  San  Luis  Obispo  creek  for  seven 
miles,  they  crossed  the  summit  of  the  Santa  Lucia 
mountains  by  the  Cuesta  pass  at  an  elevation  of 
about  1500  feet,  thence  a  descent  of  four  miles 
brought  them  to  Santa  Margarita  where  now  a  little 
town  marks  the  site  and  preserves  the  name  of  the 
ancient  rancheria.  Two  and  a  half  miles  down 
the  Rio  de  Santa  Margarita  they  came  to  the  Rio 
de  Monterey  (Salinas  river),  down  which  they 
traveled  five  and  a  half  miles  and  camped  at  the 
rancheria  of  La  Asumpcion  (Asuncion),  still  so  called, 
a  good  day's  march  of  seven  leagues.  This  is  one 
of  the  sites  selected  by  the  United  States  government 
for  the  camp  and  summer  manoeuvers  of  the  army. 
The  next  morning  they  traveled  down  the  beautiful 
plain  for  three  leagues,  then  left  the  river  at  a  point 
where  El  Paso  de  Robles  now  stands  and  passed  into 
the  hills  to  the  west,  traveling  in  a  west-northwest 
direction.  Four  leagues  more  brought  them  to  the 
Rio  del  Nacimiento  which  they  crossed  and  proceeded 
another  mile  to  El  Primo  Vado  of  the  Rio  de  San 
Antonio  where  they  camped  for  the  night.  Re- 
suming the  march  the  next  morning  they  reached 
the  mission  of  San  Antonio  de  Padua  at  four  o'clock 


San  Antonio  de  Padua  127 

in  the  afternoon  after  a  march  of  eight  leagues. 
Their  reception  here  was  equal  to  that  of  San  Gabriel 
and  of  San  Luis,  and  the  padres  regaled  the  troops 
with  two  very  fat  hogs  and  some  hog  lard.  This 
present,  Anza  says,  considering  the  condition  of  the 
country  and  of  the  priests'  necessities,  they  highly 
appreciated.  The  following  day  was  given  to  rest 
and  at  one  in  the  afternoon,  Lieutenant  Moraga 
arrived  and  reported  to  the  commander  that  he  had 
captured  the  deserters  in  the  desert  of  the  Colorado 
and  had  left  them  prisoners  at  San  Gabriel  to  be 
dealt  with  by  Captain  Rivera.  He  also  reported 
that  the  Serranos  of  the  Sierra  Madre  had  made 
hostile  demonstrations  against  him,  but  when  he 
charged  them  they  dispersed.  He  said  that  the 
Indians  had  secretly  killed  three  of  the  stolen  horses 
to  prevent  their  recapture,  and  that  he  had  noted 
in  their  possession  articles  indicating  that  they  had 
taken  part  in  the  sacking  of  San  Diego. 

Leaving  the  mission  the  next  morning,  the  Span- 
iards passed  up  Mission  creek  and  descended  Re- 
leuse  canon  to  Arroyo  Seco,  down  which  they 
traveled  to  the  valley  of  the  Rio  de  Monterey  and 
halted  for  the  night  at  the  site  of  Anza's  camp  of 
April  17,  1774,  which  he  now  calls  Los  Ositos  (the 
Little  Bears).  The  next  day  they  traveled  eight 
leagues  through  a  spacious  and  delightful  valley 
and  camped  at  a  place  called  by  them  Los  Correos. 
The  following  day,  Sunday,  March  10,  1776,  they 
marched  three  leagues  down  the  river,  then  leaving 


128       The  Beginnings  of  San  Francisco 

it,  turned  westward  for  four  leagues  more,  all  In  a 
heavy  rain,  and  at  half  past  four  in  the  afternoon 
reached  the  Royal  Presidio  of  Monterey  and  the 
end  of  their  journey.  Anza  gives  the  distance 
traveled  from  Tubac  as  three  hundred  and  sixteen 
and  a  half  leagues,  made  in  sixty-two  jornados — 
somewhat  fewer  than  he  had  calculated  before 
starting. 

The  next  morning  the  very  beloved  father-presi- 
dent of  the  missions.  Fray  Junipero  Serra,''  accom- 
panied by  three  other  religious,  came  from  the 
mission  of  San  Carlos  del  Carmelo  to  congratulate 
the  travelers  and  bid  them  welcome,  the  priests  sang 
a  mass  as  an  act  of  thanks  for  the  happy  arrival  of 
the  expedition,  after  which  Padre  Font  preached 
a  sermon.  In  the  evening  the  sehor  comandante 
and  his  chaplain  accompanied  the  priests  to  the 
mission,  one  league  distant,  as  there  were  no  proper 
accommodations  for  them  at  the  presidio.  Anza 
notes  that  the  number  of  Christian  converts  has 
been  increased  to  more  than  three  hundred  souls, 
and  he  says  that  here,  as  in  the  other  missions  he 
has  passed  through,  they  do  not,  with  all  they  raise, 
produce  enough  to  maintain  themselves,  because, 
while  the  land  is  very  fertile,  there  has  been  no  means 
of  planting  it,  although  this  year  the  amount  of  land 
under  cultivation  is  much  greater  than  before; 
"and  in  proportion  as  this  abounds  will  be  the  spirit- 
ual  conquest,   since  the  Indians  are  many,  and  if, 


Violent  Sickness  of  Anza  129 

as  we  say  of  the  greater  part  of  these,  conversion 
and  faith  enter  by  the  mouth,  so  much  greater 
will  be  our  success." 

The  viceroy  had  ordered  Anza  to  deliver  his 
expedition  to  Rivera,  the  comandante  of  California, 
at  Monterey,  and  proceed  to  make  a  survey  of  the 
port  and  river  of  San  Francisco  before  returning 
to  his  presidio  of  Tubac.  Two  days  after  his  arrival 
at  the  mission,  while  preparing  for  his  survey,  Anza 
was  suddenly  taken  with  most  violent  pains  in  the 
left  leg  and  groin.  So  great  was  the  pain  that  he 
could  scarcely  breathe  and  believed  that  he  would 
suffocate  and  die.  After  six  hours  of  torment, 
during  which  the  doctor  of  the  presidio  administered 
such  remedies  as  he  had  without  giving  him  relief, 
Anza  had  them  make  a  poultice  of  a  root  among 
his  own  stores,  which  somewhat  alleviated  the  pain, 
but  not  enough  to  enable  him  to  sleep.  For  over 
a  week  he  was  unable  to  move,  but  on  the  ninth 
day  he  got  out  of  bed,  and  on  the  day  following, 
in  spite  of  the  remonstrance  of  the  doctor,  he  mounted 
his  horse  and  began  his  journey  to  the  San  Francisco 
peninsula,  going  as  far  as  the  presidio  of  Monterey. 
There  he  rested,  being  able  to  walk  but  a  few  steps. 
The  next  day,  March  23  rd,  he  set  out,  accompanied 
by  Padre  Font,  Lieutenant  Moraga,  and  an  escort 
of  eleven  soldiers.  While  sick  at  the  mission  he  had 
sent  to  Rivera  to  say  that  the  soldiers  of  the  expedi- 
tion were  anxious  to  reach  their  destination  and  get 
settled  in  their  new  home   and   he  begged   Rivera 


130       The  Beginnings  of  San  Francisco 

to  join  him  in  establishing  the  fort  and  mission  of 
San  Francisco  as  ordered  by  the  viceroy;  and  notified 
him  that  he  should  himself  proceed  at  once  to  the 
survey  and  examination  of  the  port.  The  travelers 
made  seven  leagues  across  the  valley  of  Santa  Del- 
fina,  as  Font  calls  it,  and  camped  at  the  mouth  of 
a  canon  at  a  place  called  La  Natividad,  probably 
an  Indian  rancheria.  The  village  of  Natividad 
now  marks  the  site  and  preserves  the  name.  The 
place  was  the  scene  of  a  sharp  little  engagement 
November  16,  1846,  between  a  detachment  of 
sixty  Americans  under  Captain  Burrows  and  a 
force  of  about  eighty  Californians  under  Don  Manuel 
de  Jesus  Castro.  The  valley,  which  is  the  lower 
Monterey  or  Salinas,  was  given  the  name  of  Santa 
Delfina,  virgen  y  esposa*  de  San  Elcearo,  by  Portola. 
Leaving  the  Salinas  valley,  the  explorers  passed 
into  the  Gavilan  mountains,  traveling  up  the 
beautiful  caiion  of  Gavilan  creek,  over  the  summit, 
and  descended  to  the  San  Benito  river.  They 
crossed  the  San  Benito  just  north  of  where  the  mission 
of  San  Juan  Bautista  now  stands  and  entered  upon 
the  Llano  de  San  Pascual,  now  called  the  San  Benito 
valley,  passed  the  Rio  del  Pajaro,  entered  the  San 
Bernardino  valley  and  camped  for  the  night  on  the 
Arroyo  de  las  Llagas.  The  following  morning  the 
explorers  passed  between  the  low  hills  where  the 
valley  narrows  to  the  Coyote  river  and  entered  upon 


*  Esposa,  as  used  here,  does  not  mean  spouse — wife,  but  a  young  woman  who 
devotes  herself  to  the  service  of  the  holy  man. 


THE  PALO  ALTO  ON  SAN  FRANCISQUITO  CREEK 


ill  in  establishing  the  ion  of 

ancisco  as  ordered  by  the  vicero,,  otiiied 

ii  that  he  should  himself  proceed  at  oiivc  to  the 
survey  and  examination  of  the  port.     Th  -Icrs 

made  seven  leagues  across  the  valley  of  S  >cl- 

fina,  as  Font  calls  it,  and  camped  at  the  mouih  of 
a  caiion  at  a  place  called  La  Natividad,  probably 
an  Indian  rancheria.  The  village  of  Natividad 
now  marks  the  site  and  preserves  the  name.  The 
place  was  the  scene  of  a  sharp  little  engagement 
November  i6,  1846,  between  a  detachment  of 
sixty  Americans  under  Captain  Burrows  and  a 
force  of  about  eighty  Californians  under  Don  Manuel 
de  Jesus  Castro.  The  valley,  which  is  the  lower 
Monterey  or  Salinas,  was  given  the  name  of  Santa 
De\fina:;ii3w^iOjiJiQiiiiM^^ev&hm<Ei^dhoQ^M  SHTtol a . 

Leaving  the  Salinas  valley,  the  explorers 
into    the    Gavilan    mountains,    trave'"'   '  ...., 

beautiful  canon  of  Gavilan  creek,  ovt  ummit, 

an.  the    San    Benito  They 

crossed  the  San  Benito  just  north  of  where  liie  mission 
of  '^'^'     '  '^  ..  =  :-.  ..^.,-  .-*->.-.:     ...p. J  entered  upon 

the  ed  the  San  Benito 

valley,  passed  the  Rio  del  Pajaro,  entered  the  San 
Bernardino  valley  and  camped  for  the  night  on  t-i* 
Arroyo  de  las  Llagas.     The  following  m< 
explorers  passed  between  the  low  ^^"^'^ 
valley  narrows  to  the  Coyote  river  on 


•  Esposa,  as  used  here,  does  not  mean  spouse — wif^  >nian  who 

rself  to  the  service  of  the  holy  man 


Palo  Alto  131 

the  great  Llano  de  los  Robles  del  Puerto  de  San 
Francisco — ^The  Plain  of  the  Oaks  of  the  Port  of 
San  Francisco — now  better  known  as  the  Santa 
Clara  valley — and  keeping  well  to  the  western  part, 
they  traveled  along  the  base  of  the  foot  hills  and 
camped  on  the  Arroyo  de  San  Jose  Cupertino,  where 
from  an  elevation  of  about  three  hundred  feet,  they 
saw  the  bay  of  San  Francisco  some  seven  miles  to 
the  north.  A  march  of  four  leagues  the  next  morning 
brought  the  exploradores  to  the  Arroyo  de  San 
Francisco,  now  known  as  the  San  Francisquito  creek, 
the  site  of  Stanford  University  and  of  Portola's  camp 
of  November  6th  to  nth,  1769.  A  little  rancheria 
of  about  twenty  huts  on  the  bank  of  the  stream 
received  the  name  of  Palo  Alto  in  honor  of  a  giant 
redwood  tree  growing  on  the  bank,  whose  size, 
height,  and  appearance  is  recorded  by  both  Anza 
and  Font  as  it  had  been  by  Father  Crespi  six  years 
before.  The  name  has  been  retained  and  the  people 
of  the  pretty  university  town  are  fond  of  their  name 
and  proud  of  their  tree. 

Anza  found  on  the  bank  of  the  creek  a  cross  which 
had  been  planted  by  Rivera  in  1774,  to  mark  the 
spot  for  a  mission,  but  the  plan  had  been  abandoned, 
he  says,  because  the  creek  was  dry  in  summer. 
Passing  on  the  explorers  crossed  the  Arroyo  de  San 
Mateo  and  halted  for  the  night  on  a  little  stream 
about  a  league  beyond.  Anza  comments  upon 
the  abundance  of  oaks  and  other  trees  they  have 
been  passing  through  during  the  last  two  days  and 


132       The  Beginnings  of  San  Francisco 

particularly  notes  the  many  tall  and  thick  laurels 
of  extraordinary  and  very  fragrant  scent.  He  has 
been  traveling  through  the  most  beautiful  section 
of  California.  After  breaking  camp  early  the  next 
morning  a  march  of  three  and  a  half  leagues  brought 
the  Spaniards  to  the  mouth  of  the  port  of  San 
Francisco,  and  they  camped  at  Mountain  Lake, 
known  afterwards  as  Laguna  del  Presidio.  Anza 
does  not  give  any  name  to  the  lake  but  the  creek 
running  from  it  to  the  sea  he  calls  the  Arroyo  del 
Puerto  and  says  its  flow  is  considerable  and  sufficient 
for  a  mill;  while  Font  says  that  boats  can  come  into 
it  for  water.  Its  present  name  is  Lobos  creek  and 
it  is  but  a  little  brooklet*. 

Pitching  his  camp  at  the  laguna,  Anza  went  at 
once  to  inspect  the  entrance  to  the  bay  for  the  pur- 
pose of  selecting  a  site  for  a  fort.  Font  grows 
enthusiastic  over  the  wonderful  bay.  He  says  the 
port  of  San  Francisco  is  a  marvel  of  nature  and  may 
be  called  the  port  of  ports.  He  gives  at  length  an 
excellent  description  of  it;  its  shores;  its  islands; 
the  great  river  which  disembogues  into  the  Bahia 
Redondo  (San  Pablo  bay),  which  has  been  called 
the  Rio  de  San  Francisco,  and  which,  he  says,  he 
will  henceforth  call  La  Boca  del  Puerto  Dulce — 
The  Mouth   of  the   Fresh  Water  Port.     At  eight 


*The  government  is  taking  measures  to  fortify  the  mouth  of  Lobos  creek, 
which  forms  the  southern  boundary  of  the  Presidio  reservation,  not  to  prevent 
the  boats  of  a  hostile  fleet  from  entering  the  creek,  but  as  a  part  of  the  system 
adopted  for  fortifying  the  harbor  of  San  Francisco. 


Plan  a.  U 

Bo 

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fn 

37.*'49/ 

f 

7 

w —          :^    "" 

> 

■V 

/ 

FONT'S  MAP  OF  THE  ENTRANCE  TO 

1              Fa 

SAN  FRANCISCO  BAY 

csimile  of  drawing  accompanying  his  diary  in  John 

Carter 

i 

Brown  Library,  Providence,  R.  I. 

I 

By 

permission  of  George  Parker  Winship,  Librarian. 

''/ 

j  ^--^ 

^ 

'^*, 

%f  .•'^'*^'^' 

I 


arly  notes  the  many  \irels 

lordinary  and  very  fragrant  sc(  las 

•i  traveling  through  the  most  beautuu;   section 

oi  California.     After  breaking  camp  early  ■  -^xt 

morning  a  march  of  three  and  a  half  league  '  t 

Spaniards  to  the  mouth  of  the  poi 
Francisco,  and  they  camped  at  Mountain  Lake, 
known  afterwards  as  Laguna  del  Presidio.  Anza 
does  not  give  any  name  to  the  lake  but  the  creek 
running  from.it  to  the  sea  he  calls  the  Arroyo  del 
Puerto  and  says  its  flow  is  considerable  and  suflficient 
for  a  mill;  while  Font  says  that  boats  can  come  into 
it  for  water.  Its  present  name  is  Lobos  creek  and 
it  is  but  a  lft7l^^M^.^?LaHT  HO  <iAM  ^'^m1 

ritchiiUio^U^T  camp  :-i   .jr   iaeun^,  A^za  went  at 

^WtTJ  nfloL  ni  yiBffi  eiri  §niYn£qmo±>B  gni^sib  to  sUmipB.T. 

once  to  mspect  m®  'j^erf^&rve^^-.^-t^cfilf  ^n^^^'  for  the  pur- 

-,ii;jct;c  over  the  wonderful  bay.  ^  aie 

Francisco  is  a  marvel  of  na  i  may 

le  port  of  ports.     He  gives  at  length  an 

exceiitfiL   description   of   it;  its  its   islands; 

the    •  -    -•  "-■■-^^    '• ■  .,;lo  the  Bahia 

Rec  has  been  called 

the  Rio  de  San  Francisco,  and  which,  he  says,  he 
will  henceforth  call  La  Boca  del  Puerto  Dulce  - 
The  Mouth  of  the  Fresh  Water  Poi 


"he  government  is  taking  measures  to  fortify  l' 
forms  the  southern  boundary  of  the  Presi 
-its  of  a  h'^':''if  n^'  f  from  entering  the  rr 

<:d  for  fori  larbor  of  San  } 


Plan  de  la.  Boca  del  Puerto  de  4>an  irancisco^  situido  en  37.  ^S. 


PUNTA    DEL    CaNTIL    BlANCO  1 33 

o'clock  the  next  morning  Anza  resumed  his  survey, 
and  going  to  the  place  where  the  entrance  to  the 
bay  was  narrowest,  which  he  called  Punta  del  Cantil 
Blanco — Point  of  the  Steep  White  Rock,  now  called 
Fort  Point — and  where,  he  says,  no  one  had  hitherto 
been,  he  planted  a  cross  to  mark  the  spot  where  the 
fort  should  be  built,  and  at  its  foot,  underground, 
he  placed  a  notice  of  what  he  had  seen.  Between 
the  Laguna  del  Presidio  and  the  Punto  del  Cantil 
Blanco  is  a  mesa — table-land — ^having  an  elevation 
of  some  three  hundred  and  fifty  feet,  about  a  mile 
in  breadth  and  a  trifle  more  in  length,  narrowing 
to  the  north  until  it  ends  in  the  Cantil  Blanco.  Font 
says:  "This  mesa  presents  a  most  delicious  view. 
From  it  may  be  seen  a  great  part  of  the  port  and  its 
islands,  the  mouth  of  the  port,  and  of  the  sea,  the 
view  reaching  beyond  the  Farallones.*  The  Sehor 
Comandante  designated  this  mesa  for  the  site  of 
a  new  town."t 

The  comandante,  taking  with  him  his  lieutenant, 
now  turned  to  explore  the  inner  coast  of  the  penin- 
sula.    He    encountered    some    streams    and    trees. 


*  The  Farallon  Islands;  about  twenty-five  miles  off  the  coast. 

t  Captain  Benjamin  Morrell,  who  visited  the  port  in  May,  1825,  says: 
"The  town  of  San  Francisco  stands  on  a  table-land,  about  three  hundred  and 
fifty  feet  above  the  sea,  on  a  peninsula  five  miles  in  width,  on  the  south  side  of 
the  entrance  to  the  bay,  about  two  miles  to  the  east  of  the  outer  entrance,  and 
one-fourth  of  a  mile  from  the  shore"  (MorreU's  Narrative  p.  211).  The  settle- 
ment at  the  presidio  was  abandoned  after  1835-6,  when  the  Americans  and  other 
foreigners  began  to  build  their  trading-houses  and  residences  at  Yerba  Buena. 
It  was  not  on  the  mesa  but  on  the  lower  and  more  sheltered  ground  of  the  pre- 
sidio. 


134       The  Beginnings  of  San  Francisco 

mostly  of  oak,  of  good  thickness,  but  twisted  against 
the  ground  by  the  prevailing  northwest  winds. ='° 
About  three-quarters  of  a  league  from  camp  he  came 
upon  a  little  lake  of  good  water,  known  to  the  Span- 
iards as  Laguna  Pequeiia  and  to  the  San  Francisco 
pioneers  as  Fresh  Pond,  or  Washerwomen's  Lagoon, 
from  which  he  thought  water  for  irrigation  might 
be  drawn.  Continuing  along  the  eastern  shore  of 
the  bay  he  came  to  a  large  lake  into  which  flowed  a 
good  stream  or  spring — ojo  de  agua* — ,  and  which 
appeared  as  if  it  might  be  permanent  in  the  dryest 
season,  while  the  land  about  it  was  fertile  and  promised 
abundant  reward  for  cultivation.  He  returned  to 
camp  about  five  o'clock  much  pleased  with  the  result 
of  his  examination. 

The  next  morning,  Friday,  March  29th,  Anza 
packed  the  baggage  and  sent  it  by  the  road  of  his 
coming  with  orders  to  await  him  at  the  Arroyo  de 
San  Mateo;  then  taking  his  padre  capellan,  Pedro 
Font,  and  an  escort  of  five  soldiers,  he  went  to  com- 
plete his  examination  of  the  southeastern  part  of 
the  peninsula  and  of  the  lake  he  had  seen  the  day 
before,  to  which  he  gave  the  name  of  Laguna  de 
Manantial.  He  also  examined  the  stream — ojo  de 
agua — which  Font  calls  a  beautiful  little  rivulet,  and 
because  the  day  was  the  Friday  of  Sorrows — Viernes 
de  Dolores\ — Anza  named  it  Arroyo  de  los  Dolores." 


*  Ojo  de  agua,  means  a  spring  of  water  or  a  spring  from  which  flows  a  stream 
of  water.     Anza  frequently  used  the  expression  to  denote  a  small  stream. 
t  The  Friday  of  Sorrows  is  the  Friday  before  Palm  Sunday. 


Sites  of  Fort  and  Mission  Chosen      135 

Thus  originated  a  name  that  became  the  official 
designation  of  a  very  large  and  thickly  settled 
section  of  the  city  of  San  Francisco — the  Mission 
Dolores — shortened  in  the  vernacular  to  the  "Mis- 
sion." Anza  found  here  all  the  requirements  for 
a  mission:  fertile  land  for  cultivation,  unequalled 
in  goodness  and  abundance,  with  fuel  and  water, 
timber  and  stone  suitable  for  building;  nothing 
was  wanting.  Anza  speaks  with  enthusiasm  of 
the  new  town  and  mission.  The  fort,  he  said, 
shall  be  built  where  the  entrance  to  the  port  is 
narrowest  and  where  he  set  up  the  cross,  the  town 
on  the  mesa  behind  it,  and  the  mission  in  this  quiet 
beautiful  valley,  sufficiently  near  the  fort  to  be  under 
its  protection,  but  far  enough  away  to  insure  its 
peaceful  serenity. 

Having  settled  these  details  Anza  proceeded  across 
the  peninsula  to  examine  the  Laguna  de  la  Merced, 
which  is  situated  near  the  ocean  shore  in  the  south- 
western part  of  the  city,  thence  he  turned  into  the 
Canada  de  San  Andres,*  through  which  he  traveled 
its  entire  length  of  some  six  and  a  half  leagues;  and 
he  gives  an  account  of  the  abundance  of  suitable 
timber  for  building,  speaking  particularly  of  the 
red-wood — palo   Colorado,   the   oak,    poplar,   willow, 

*  It  extends  from  a  little  north  of  Point  San  Pedro  southerly  to  the  San 
Francisquito  creek.  It  was  from  the  heights  as  he  crossed  into  it  that  Portola 
first  saw  the  bay  of  San  Francisco.  It  formed  part  of  the  Buri  Buri  and  Las 
Pulgas  grants  and  now  belongs  to  the  Spring  Valley  Water  Company  and  con- 
tains their  principal  reservoirs. 


136       The  Beginnings  of  San  Francisco 

and  other  trees,  of  its  proximity  to  the  bay  and  of 
the  facility  with  which  the  lumber  could  be  gotten 
out.  He  also  suggests  that  the  second  bay  mission 
could  be  established  in  this  caiiada,  and  would  serve 
as  a  stopping-place — escala — ^between  Monterey  and 
San  Francisco.  In  the  cafiada  an  enormous  bear 
came  out  against  them  and  they  succeeded  in  killing 
it.  At  6.15,  after  dark,  they  reached  the  camp  on 
the  Arroyo  de  San  Mateo. 

The  following  morning,  March  31st,  they  pro- 
ceeded to  the  survey  of  the  Rio  de  San  Francisco, 
keeping  to  the  road  of  their  coming  until  they  reached 
the  San  Francisquito,  then  leaving  the  road  they 
passed  around  the  head  of  the  bay  and  came  to  a 
large  arroyo  which  they  crossed  and  camped  for 
the  night.  Anza  gave  the  name  of  Rio  de  Guadalupe 
to  the  stream,  a  name  it  still  bears,  and  said  it  had 
abundant  and  good  timber,  and  lands  that  would 
support  a  large  population."  The  next  morning 
the  march  was  resumed  and  crossing  with  some  diffi- 
culty the  Coyote  river,  they  traveled  northward 
for  seven  leagues  and  camped  on  the  San  Leandro 
creek,  named  by  Fages  in  1772  Arroyo  de  San  Sal- 
vador. They  passed  six  rancherias,  the  people  of 
which,  being  unaccustomed  to  seeing  white  men, 
fled  in  terror.  Anza  endeavored  to  pacify  them  and 
gave  presents  of  food  and  trinkets  to  all  who  would 
approach  him.  The  Indians  of  the  San  Francisco 
bay  were  of  darker  color  than  those  of  the  Colorado 
and  the  Santa  Barbara  channel,  many  wore  beards 


Exploration  of  Contra  Costa  137 

and  all  wore  hair  long  and  tied  up  on  top  of  the  head- 
Three  leagues  of  travel  the  next  morning  brought 
the  exploradores  to  the  site  of  the  University  of 
California  at  Berkeley,  "a  point  opposite  the  dis- 
emboguement  of  the  estero  commonly  called  San 
Francisco,"  and  they  gazed  out  through  the  Golden 
Gate  to  the  broad  Pacific  beyond.  Anza  noted  his 
opinion  that  the  estero  was  not  five  leagues  broad, 
as  had  been  stated,  but  scarcely  four.*  Proceeding 
on  their  journey  they  climbed  over  the  treeless  hills 
and  crossed  the  deep  arroyos  of  Contra  Costa  and 
camped  for  the  night  very  close  to  the  "  disembogue- 
ment  of  the  Rio  de  San  Francisco  into  the  port  of 
that  name."  Font  gives  a  very  good  description 
of  San  Pablo  bay  (Bahia  Redonda)  and  speculates 
whether  the  large  cove  and  stretch  of  water  which 
from  a  high  hill  he  could  see  away  to  the  west,  one- 
quarter  northwest,  communicated  with  the  port  of 
Bodega,  discovered  six  months  before  by  Lieutenant 
Juan  Francisco  de  Bodega  y  Cuadra.  What  Font 
saw  was  Napa  slough.  The  camp  that  night  was 
on  Rodeo  creek  about  two  and  a  half  miles  from 
Carquines  strait.  On  the  following  day,  April  2d, 
the  command  proceeded  a  short  distance  up  the 
strait  and  halted  to  take  the  latitude  of  the  place, 
to  observe  the  condition  of  the  "river,"  and  to 
measure  its  breadth  and  depth.  Both  Anza  and 
Font  doubted  if  it  were  a  river  at  all  as  there  appeared 


*  4  leagues:  10.4  miles.    It  is  9.75  miles  from  the  Berkeley  shore  to  the  Marin 
coast. 


138       The  Beginnings  of  San  Francisco 

to  be  no  current  and  there  was  no  evidence  of  freshets 
in  the  shape  of  driftwood  and  rubbish  thrown  up 
on  its  banks.  They  both  tasted  the  water  and 
found  it  brackish  but  not  so  salty  as  the  sea.  They 
record  their  observation  of  the  sun  as  giving  the 
latitude  38°  5'  14".  Resuming  the  march  in  the 
afternoon  they  saw  the  so-called  river  begin  to 
widen  out  until  it  took  on  the  appearance  of  a  laguna 
rather  than  that  of  a  river,*  then  turning  somewhat 
to  the  south  to  avoid  the  marshes  they  camped  for 
the  night  on  the  bank  of  an  arroyo  of  wholesome 
water  that  had  been  named  by  Fages  Arroyo  de 
Santa  Angela  de  Fulgino,  now  known  as  Walnut 
creek.  The  next  morning  they  crossed  the  valley 
of  Santa  Angela  de  Fulgino  in  a  northwest  direction, 
entered  Willow  Pass  and  mounted  a  hill,  from  the 
top  of  which  they  could  see  how  the  river  divided 
itself  into  three  arms  or  branches,  as  described  by 
Don  Pedro  Fages.  Descending  the  hill  they  tried 
to  approach  the  river,  but  were  prevented  by  the 
marshes.  Continuing  to  the  east-northeast  for  two 
and  a  half  leagues  they  came  to  the  river  and  to  a 
large  rancheria  of  some  four  hundred  Indians  who 
received  them  with  friendly  demonstrations  and  gave 
them  cooked  slices  of  salmon,  while  Anza  recipro- 
cated with  the  usual  presents.  Tasting  the  water  of 
the  river  they  found  it  quite  fresh  and  were  per- 
suaded  that   what   Captain    Fages    had    called   the 

*  This  was  Suisun  bay. 


The  Rio  de  San  Francisco  139 

Rio  de  San  Francisco  was  not  a  river  at  all,  but  a 
great  fresh  water  sea.  They  were  now  on  the  San 
Joaquin  river. 

Resuming  his  march  to  the  east-northeast  for 
about  one  league,  Anza  climbed  a  high  hill  to  observe 
the  country  and  from  this  vantage  point  he  saw  a 
confusion  of  water,  tulares,  forest,  and  level  plain 
of  an  extension  unmeasurable.  To  the  east,  beyond 
the  plain,  he  saw  a  great  sierra  nevada,  white  from 
the  summit  down,  which  appeared  to  run  from 
southeast  to  northwest,  while  northward  to  the 
horizon  extended  the  plain,  encroached  upon  by  the 
sea  of  fresh  water  and  tulares.  With  the  doubt  that 
the  Rio  de  San  Francisco  was  a  river  at  all  becoming 
more  fixed  in  his  mind,  he  descended  to  the  water 
and  camped  for  the  night  in  a  grove  of  oaks  near  an 
abandoned  rancheria,  which  he  called  San  Ricardo. 
This  was  at  or  near  the  site  of  the  present  town  of 
Antioch.  It  was  here  that  Fages  in  1772  gave  up 
the  attempt  to  reach  Point  Reyes,  and  turned  back 
to  Monterey.  Anza  again  tasted  the  water  and 
found  it  crystalline,  cool,  fresh,  and  good.  Seeing 
that  the  breeze  caused  some  gentle  waves  to  wash  the 
beach  or  shore,  he  took  a  good  sized  pole  and  threw 
it  as  far  out  on  the  water  as  he  could,  but  instead 
of  being  carried  down  the  stream  it  was  washed 
ashore  by  the  little  waves.  He  resolved  to  go  further 
up  the  river  or  laguna  and  see  if  he  could  ascertain 
what  it  was.  Noting  the  rise  and  fall  of  the  tide 
he  posted  Lieutenant  Moraga  to  watch  throughout 


140       The  Beginnings  of  San  Francisco 

the  night  and  measure  its  height.  They  found  that 
the  difference  between  high  and  low  water  was  eight 
feet  and  eleven  inches.  All  this  convinced  Font 
that  the  Rio  de  San  Francisco  was  no  river  at  all 
but  a  fresh  water  sea,  and  he  named  it  Puerto  Dulce — 
Fresh-water  Port,  a  name  which  was  frequently 
used  by  the  Spaniards  in  speaking  of  Suisun  bay. 
One  who  has  been  through  the  waste  of  waters  of 
the  San  Joaquin  delta  can  understand  what  it  might 
have  been  one  hundred  and  thirty  years  ago  in  the 
spring  of  the  year.  Anza  still  retained  his  doubt 
and  from  this  day  used  the  term,  Rio  6  Laguna  de 
San  Francisco,  in  alluding  to  it.  Until  two  o'clock 
the  following  afternoon  Anza  struggled  on  foot  and 
on  horseback  to  overcome  the  obstacles  which  pre- 
vented him  from  reaching  the  plains  on  the  north- 
east, but  the  farther  he  went  the  farther  he  was 
diverted  from  his  true  direction  and  the  more  his 
course  was  obstructed  by  water  running  into  the 
river  or  laguna.  He  was  now  informed  by  two 
soldiers  of  his  escort  who  belonged  to  the  Monterey 
garrison  that  the  water  came  from  the  tulares* 
that  reached  as  far  south  as  the  mission  of  San  Luis 
Obispo,  that  they  were  thirty  leagues  in  breadth 
and  were  unfordable  even  in  the  dry  season.  Realiz- 
ing that  what  he  attempted  could  only  be  accom- 


*  "The  Tulares"  is  a  large  tract  of  marsh  reaching  from  Kern  lake  in  the 
Upper  San  Joaquin  valley  to  Butte  in  the  Sacramento — a  distance  of  about 
three  hundred  and  fifty  miles — and  filled  with  tules  or  bulrushes.  It  has  been 
largely  drained  and  contains  some  of  the  richest  land  in  California. 


^ 


FONT'S  MAP  OF  EXPLORATIONS,  MONTEREY 

TO  SAN  FRANCISCO 

Facsimile  of  drawing  accompanying  diary. 

y  permission  of  George  Parker  Winship,  Librarian. 


^^ 


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y 


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M 


facaJa   At  auijta*   ffC>.J/  M 


PefrwFomf*:,,!     Tu 


«t*Uj^MAP^DK^|^a^Q|^ 


"  t  CO 

\nd  measure  it  d  that 

erence  between  high  anci  >  eight 

L   and  eleven  inches.     All   this  Font 

that  the  Rio  de  San  Francisco  wai.  ,  at  all 

but  a  fresh  water  sea,  and  he  named  it  P  'ulce — 

Fresh-water  Port,  a  name  which  was  frequently 
used  by  the  Spaniards  in  speaking  of  Suisun  bay. 
One  who  has  been  through  the  waste  of  waters  of 
the  San  Joaquin  delta  can  understand  what  it  might 
have  been  one  hundred  and  thirty  years  ago  in  the 
spring  of  the  year.  Anza  still  retained  his  doubt 
and  from  this  day  used  the  term,  Rio  6  Laguna  de 
San  Francisco,  in  alluding  to  it.  Until  two  o'clock 
the  following  afternoon  Anza  struggled  on  foot  and 
on  hors4^^^3j^;^^^^^i9^^j^c^^5^g.T;^^h  pre- 
vented him  from  Kgogibiijf^ilMAatiains  on  the  north- 
east, but  th«nBffesth^q^9e?£wiii»i^i>l4i^'«^s>p?lier  he  was 
diverted-TOffh^fr^i^r^dfrVcm'ft'^a^T'filt^  fore  his 

course  was  obstructed  by  water  runnini'  ne 

river  or  laguna.     He  v  i formed   by    two 

'  '  '  cu  to  the  Monterey 

L....,  ..„.^.    ^^„-c   from   the   tulares* 

that  reached  as  far  south  as  the  mission  of  San  Luis 
Obispo,  that  the  thirty  leagues  in  breadth 

and  were  unfordabic  even  in  the  dry  season.  Realiz- 
ing that  what  '- -    -rtempted  could  only  b^^ 


*  "The  Tulares"  is  a  large  tract  of  marsh  reaching  fv  ■  'he. 

Upper  San  Joaquin  valley  to  Butte  in  the  Sacrament  ■■■.  auout 

three  hundred  and  fifty  miles — and  filled  with  lules  ur  has  been 
largely  drained  and  contains  some  of  the  richest  land  i 


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31 


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jtr  P»fru<  Font  ftcit-Tubut^i    ..^ 


jtr  Ptfru,  F»»,  f«„-Tui,u,^t  ^nnoJ777 \5s^v?4;<;r<^v^x^^^"''~-v.  -, 


In  the  Monte  Diablo  Range  141 

pllshed  by  a  detour  of  three  or  four  hundred  miles 
and  that  a  survey  could  be  better  made  from  San 
Luis  Obispo,  Anza  turned  and  rode  straight  to  the 
southwest  in  the  direction  of  Monterey,  and  traveling 
four  and  a  half  leagues  camped  for  the  night  in  the 
foot  hills  of  the  Monte  del  Diablo  range.  Being 
without  a  guide  he  had  crossed  the  entrance  to  the 
Livermore  pass,  missed  a  very  easy  road  through 
Livermore  valley  to  the  route  of  his  upward  journey 
and  plunged  into  about  as  rough  a  mountain  country 
as  could  be  found  in  America.  For  the  next  two 
days  he  struggled  with  the  difficulties  of  the  mountain 
passage,  frequently  turning  back  to  escape  from 
impassable  canons  and  on  April  6th  emerged  from 
the  Cordillera  into  the  Santa  Clara  valley  by  the 
canon  of  Coyote  creek.  The  explorers'  route  from 
the  camp  in  the  Livermore  hills  was  by  the  caiion  of 
the  Arroyo  de  Bueno  Ayres  to  the  summit  of  the 
mountains  whence  they  looked  down  upon  the  great 
San  Joaquin  valley ;  thence  descendinginto  the  Arroyo 
Mocho  they  traveled  some  five  miles,  passing  to  the 
west  of  Cerro  Colorado,  which  they  noted,  and  camp- 
ing in  San  Antonio  valley.  The  second  day's  route 
was  over  the  divide  to  the  canon  of  the  east  fork  of 
the  Coyote  creek  down  which  they  traveled,  climbing 
into  and  out  of  the  dangerous  caiion,  and  camped  at 
night  near  the  site  of  Gilroy  Hot  Springs.  It  was 
a  difficult  journey.  Anza  says  that  the  hardships 
of  the  march  were  very  great,  "If  we  traveled  by 
the  canons  we  were  impeded  by  the  rocks,  and  when 


142       The  Beginnings  of  San  Francisco 

we  attempted  the  heights  we  nearly  fell  over  the 
precipices.  The  sierra,  whose  width  and  dangerous 
heights  no  one  would  have  believed  we  could  sur- 
mount, was  named  by  those  who  came  before  'La 
Sierra  del  Charco. '" 

The  rest  of  the  journey  was  easy  and  rapid.  They 
reached  the  presidio  of  Monterey  at  10.30  in  the 
morning  of  April  8th,  and  Anza  went  to  the  mission 
of  the  Carmelo  to  cure  his  leg,  from  which  he  was 
still  suffering.  On  April  13th  he  sent  five  soldiers 
to  the  presidio  of  San  Diego,  where  Rivera  still 
lingered,  to  request  the  comandante  of  California 
to  meet  him  at  the  mission  of  San  Gabriel  on  the 
25th  or  26th  of  April,  and  come  to  some  agreement 
regarding  the  duty  with  which  they  were  both 
charged,  viz:  the  establishment  of  the  presidio  and 
mission  of  San  Francisco.  Then  with  but  slight 
improvement  in  his  malady,  Anza  went  to  the  presidio 
of  Monterey  to  deliver  to  Lieutenant  Moraga  the 
command  of  the  expedition. 

At  two  o'clock  in  the  afternoon  of  April  14th 
Anza  began  his  return  march  to  Mexico.  With 
the  commander  was  his  chaplain.  Fray  Pedro  Font, 
the  purveyer  of  the  expedition,  Don  Mariano  Vidal, 
his  escort  of  ten  soldiers,  and  twelve  vaqueros, 
arrieros,  and  servants — twenty-five  in  all.  He  was 
also  accompanied  by  two  priests  of  San  Luis  Obispo, 
visiting  at  Monterey,  who  availed  themselves  of 
this  opportunity  for  returning.  "This  day,"  he 
writes,  "has  been  the  saddest  that  said  presidio  (of 


Anza  Says  Good-by  to  his  People        143 

Monterey)  has  experienced  since  it  was  founded.  As 
I  mounted  my  horse  in  its  plaza,  the  greater  part  of 
the  people  I  had  brought  from  their  country,  and 
particularly  the  women,  remembering  the  treatment, 
good  or  bad,  they  have  experienced  from  me  while 
under  my  command,  came  dissolved  in  tears,  which 
they  shed  publicly,  not  so  much  because  of  their 
banishment  as  because  of  my  departure,  and  with 
embraces  and  wishes  for  my  happiness  bade  me 
farewell,  giving  me  praises  I  do  not  deserve.  I  was 
deeply  moved  by  their  gratitude  and  affection, 
which  I  reciprocate,  and  I  testify  that  from  the 
beginning  up  to  to-day  I  have  not  seen  any  sign  of 
desertion  in  any  of  these  whom  I  have  brought  from 
their  country  to  remain  in  this  distant  place;  and 
in  praise  of  their  fidelity  I  may  be  permitted  to 
make  this  memorial  of  a  people  who  in  the  course 
of  time  will  come  to  be  very  useful  to  the  monarchy 
in  whose  service  they  have  voluntarily  left  parents 
and  country,  which  is  everything  one  can  abandon." 
Returning  by  the  road  he  had  come  Anza  met  on 
the  morning  of  the  second  day,  the  sergeant  whom  he 
had  sent  with  dispatches  to  Rivera.  Delivering 
to  Anza  two  letters  from  Rivera  the  soldier  requested 
the  honor  of  a  private  interview  in  which  he  com- 
municated to  Anza  the  fact  that  Rivera,  who  was 
following  close  behind,  had  been  excommunicated 
at  San  Diego  for  having  violated  the  sanctuary  of 
the  church  in  taking  therefrom  by  force  an  Indian 
criminal;  that  in  his   opinion  the  comandante  was 


144       The  Beginnings  of  San  Francisco 

mad;  that  he  had  treated  him  with  indignity  and 
had  reduced  him  from  the  rank  of  sergeant;  that 
the  comandante  had  first  refused  to  receive  Anza's 
letters,  and  on  the  following  day  had  demanded 
them  and  at  the  same  time,  without  opening  them 
had  given  him  the  letters  for  Anza  and  bade  him 
begone.  Anza  opened  Rivera's  letters  and  found 
they  contained  a  refusal  to  join  him  in  the  establish- 
ment of  the  presidio  at  San  Francisco. 

Directing  the  sergeant  to  continue  his  way  to 
Monterey  Anza  resumed  his  march  and  a  league 
further  on  met  Rivera.  Anza  saluted  the  coman- 
dante courteously  with  an  enquiry  for  his  health, 
but  without  halting  Rivera  answered  the  enquiry 
and  spurred  his  horse  forward  with  a  short  "good- 
bye." Anza  called  to  him,  "Well!  about  the  letter 
lately  written  you,  you  shall  answer  me  in  Mexico — 
or  wherever  you  wish";  to  which  Rivera  replied, 
"Very  well. "  This  so  enraged  Anza  that  he  called  on 
the  priests  with  him  to  witness  Rivera's  discourtesy."^ 

At  San  Luis  Obispo  Anza  was  overtaken  by  a 
messenger  from  Junipero  Serra  who  requested  his 
good  offices  in  the  matter  of  the  Indians  concerned 
in  the  late  rebellion  at  San  Diego  who  had  now  offered 
their  submission.  The  messenger  also  brought  a 
letter  from  Rivera,  apologizing  for  his  discourtesy, 
and  both  priest  and  soldier  asked  Anza  to  await 
their  arrival  from  Monterey.  Anza  waited,  but 
the  conference  resulted  in  nothing.  The  two  officers 
did  not  meet  but  conducted  their  negotiations  by 


Return  March  Across  the  Desert      145 

letter.  Rivera,  from  his  camp  a  short  distance  from 
San  Luis,  requested  a  conference  at  San  Gabriel. 
Anza,  who  had  lost  four  days  in  waiting,  pushed  on 
for  San  Gabriel  where  he  waited  three  days  more  for 
Rivera  to  appear,  and  then  resumed  his  march, 
first  sending  to  Rivera  a  plan  of  the  port  of  San 
Francisco,  with  the  places  selected  for  the  fort  and 
mission.  At  the  Santa  Ana  river  he  was  again  over- 
taken by  a  messenger  from  Rivera  who  wrote  that 
he  had  been  so  busy  over  the  papers  in  the  affair 
at  San  Diego  that  he  had  had  no  time  to  write  to 
his  excellency,  the  viceroy.  He  begged  Anza  to 
make  his  excuses  to  the  viceroy  and  at  the  same  time 
enclosed  him  a  letter  to  be  delivered  to  the  father 
guardian  of  the  College  of  San  Fernando.  Anza, 
who  was  out  of  patience  with  Rivera's  trifling  and 
considered  it  disrespectful  for  him  to  write  to  the 
guardian  and  not  to  the  viceroy,  refused  to  receive 
the  letter  and  sent  it  back.  Crossing  the  San  Jacinto 
mountains  by  the  route  he  had  come,  he  reached  the 
Cienega  de  San  Sebastian  on  the  evening  of  May  7th. 
Wishing  to  cross  the  desert  in  one  Jornada  if  possible 
Anza  made  what  he  calls  a  tardeada — a  late  march — 
and  starting  at  12,45  P-ni.  of  May  8th  reached  the 
Laguna  de  Santa  Olalla  at  midnight  of  the  9th, 
having  traveled  twenty-five  leagues  with  two  rests 
of  five  and  a  half  hours  each.  Joyfully  received  by 
the  Indians  of  Santa  Olalla,  who  brought  the  travelers 
an  abundance  of  maize,  beans,  and  other  eatables, 
Anza   rested   his   weary   men   and   caballerias   until 


146      The  Beginnings  of  San  Francisco 

three  o'clock  of  the  next  afternoon  and  then  resumed 
his  march  for  the  junction  of  the  rivers,  where  he 
arrived  at  eleven  on  the  morning  of  May  iith. 

At  the  Puerto  de  la  Concepcion  Anza  found 
Padre  Esaire,  one  of  the  two  priests  that  had  accom- 
panied him  from  Horcasitas  to  the  Colorado  river; 
the  other,  Garces,  had  gone  up  the  river,  whence  he 
had  crossed  the  Mojave  desert  into  the  interior  of 
California  and  was,  at  that  moment  on  the  Kern 
river  on  his  way  back  from  San  Gabriel.  Anza 
dispatched  a  letter  by  an  Indian  messenger  to  the 
place  where  Garces  was  supposed  to  be,  saying  that 
he  would  wait  three  days  and  then  resume  his  jour- 
ney. He  then  began  collecting  logs  for  a  raft,  for 
the  river  was  running  full. 

The  next  day  came  Palma,  chief  of  the  Yumas,  to 
remind  Anza  of  his  agreement  to  take  him  to  the 
City  of  Mexico.  Anza  represented  to  the  chief 
that  the  City  of  Mexico  was  a  great  distance  off, 
and  that  if  Palma  went  there  he  would  be  a  long  time 
away  from  his  people.  Palma  asked  how  many 
years  he  would  be  away  and  the  comandante  told 
him  not  more  than  one  at  most.  Palma  said  it 
was  well;  that  he  had  provided  for  the  government 
of  his  nation  during  his  absence,  and  he  presented 
to  Anza  two  underchiefs  to  whom  he  had  committed 
the  administration  of  affairs.  Anza  required  him 
also  to  select  three  of  his  people  to  accompany  him, 
that  there  might  be  witnesses  to  report  to  the  Yumas 


The  Passage  of  the  Colorado  147 

If  anything  should  befall  their  chief,  and  then,  after 
consultation  with  the  priests,  granted  Palma's 
petition.* 

They  now  prepared  to  cross  the  river,  selecting  a 
place  where  it  was  compressed  to  about  one  hundred 
varas  in  width.  The  current  was  very  rapid  but 
the  banks  were  approachable.  One  raft  was  launched 
on  the  morning  of  the  13  th,  loaded  with  some  of 
Anza's  people  and  baggage,  directed  by  twenty- 
three  Yumas  swimming,  and  made  the  journey  in 
safety,  but  consumed  five  and  a  half  hours  on  the 
trip.  At  four  o'clock  another  raft  was  sent  over 
and  made  the  opposite  shore,  but  far  down  the 
stream,  and  was  so  badly  damaged  that  the  Yumas 
did  not  attempt  to  return  it  that  night. 

At  daybreak  the  next  morning  the  river  was  much 
higher  and  the  great  force  of  the  water  made  the 
passage  of  the  train  very  difficult.  The  provisions 
and  such  of  the  freight  as  could  be  divided  into 
small  portions  were  sent  over  in  coritas  and  cajetes 
grandes,'\  which  the  women,  swimming,  pushed 
before  them  like  little  boats.  Owing  to  the  swiftness 
of  the  current  a  woman  would  have  to  swim  more 
than  fifteen  hundred  varas — four-fifths  of  a  mile — 
in  going  and  coming,  and  they  had  to  bring  back 


*  Anza  took  with  him  to  the  City  of  Mexico  Palma,  his  brother,  a  son  of  Pablo, 
and  a  Cajuenche  Indian — four  in  all.  They  lived  with  him  in  a  house  in  the  Calle 
de  la  Merced  and  were  handsomely  entertained.  They  were  baptized  February 
^3)  ^777i  Don  Jose  Gomez,  Cabo  de  Alabarderos,  was  sponsor. 

t  Corita — a  large,  shallow,  water-tight  basket. 
Cajete — a  fiat,  earthen  bowl. 


148       The  Beginnings  •of  San  Francisco 

the  empty  vessels.  Anza  says  that  some  of  the 
women  made  twelve  trips.  All  they  asked  for  the 
service  was  a  few  glass  beads,  which  Anza  gave 
them  in  abundance.  A  raft  was  sent  over  at 
midday  with  some  of  the  people  of  the  expedition, 
and  late  in  the  afternoon  two  others  were  completed 
on  which  the  rest  of  the  command  embarked.  On 
the  larger  of  the  two  were  the  comandante,  the  two 
priests,  the  purveyor,  and  some  soldiers — thirteen 
persons  in  all.  It  was  managed  by  forty  Yumas 
in  the  water,  but  as  it  was  leaving  the  bank  it 
began  to  sink.  Instantly  more  than  two  hundred 
Yumas — among  them  many  women,  plunged  into 
the  river  and  with  much  noise  and  shouting  the 
raft  was  passed  over  to  the  other  shore,  traveling 
some  eight  hundred  varas,  its  passengers  safe,  but 
a  little  wet."*  Anza  says:  "I  have,  before  this, 
made  the  statement  which  I  now  most  emphatically 
confirm,  that  the  fact  of  our  having  the  people  of 
this  river  for  friends,  enables  us  to  cross  it  with  the 
fewest  difficulties,  and  that  were  the  contrary  the 
case,  it  would  be  almost  impossible  to  make  the 
passage."* 

On  May  iSth,  having  seen  all  his  people  and  bag- 
gage safely  over  the  river,  Anza  resumed  his  march, 
passing  up   the  Gila   some   thirty-one   and   a   half 


*  After  the  destruction  of  the  missions  of  the  Colorado  in  1 781,  the  overland 
route  from  Sonora  was  closed  until  sometime  after  the  beginning  of  the  nine- 
teenth century.  It  was  reopened  in  1823,  but  there  was  always  trouble  with 
the  Yumas. 


Character  of  Anza  149 

miles  to  the  Laguna  Salada;  then  leaving  the  river 
he  struck  across  the  Papagueria,  direct  to  the  south- 
east and  by  forced  marches  reached  Carrizal,  the 
sink  of  the  Sonoita,  about  noon  of  the  19th,  having 
lost  six  caballerias  on  the  passage.  From  here  on 
to  the  mission  of  Caborca  on  the  Rio  del  Altar  he 
followed  the  route  of  his  upward  passage  of  1774. 
Starting  from  Caborca  on  the  25th,  he  continued 
his  route  to  the  southeast.  At  Real  de  la  Cieneguilla, 
a  rich  gold  mining  camp,  he  took  under  his  protection 
a  pack-train  that  was  waiting  for  an  escort,  this 
portion  of  the  country  being  infested  with  Apaches, 
and  reached  San  Miguel  de  Horcasitas  and  the  end 
of  his  journey,  June  i,  1776. 

Here  ends  the  diary.  Anza's  mission  was  accom- 
plished. He  had  taken  his  people  through  in  safety 
to  Monterey,  meeting  with  skill  and  courage  the 
perils  of  the  way — the  cold,  the  deserts,  the  moun- 
tains, and  the  rivers — and  he  testifies  that  of  all 
those  entrusted  to  his  care,  not  one  had  been  lost 
except  the  woman  who  died  in  childbirth  the  first 
night  out  from  Tubac.  He  had  left  them  in  a  strange 
and  far  country  and  they  had  parted  from  him  with 
tears,  not  because  they  had  left  home  and  friends, 
but  because  they  should  see  his  face  no  more. 

Anza's  character  may  be  read  in  the  pages  of 
his  diary.  He  was  by  nature  simple  and  kindly, 
responsive  to  the  call  of  duty  and  true  to  the  "  chival- 
rous traditions  of  heroic  Spain."  It  is  not  easy  to 
estimate  the  value  of  the  services  of  this  gallant 


150       The  Beginnings  of  San  Francisco 

soldier,  and  the  monument  erected  in  San  Francisco 
to  the  Pioneers  of  California  is  incomplete  without 
his  name. 

From  San  Diego  Rivera  wrote  Moraga  to  build 
houses  at  Monterey  for  the  people  of  the  expedition 
as  there  would  be  a  year's  delay  before  the  presidio 
could  be  founded  at  San  Francisco;  but  on  May  8th, 
the  comandante,  having  changed  his  mind,  ordered 
the  lieutenant  to  proceed  to  San  Francisco  and  estab- 
lish the  fort  on  the  site  selected  by  Anza,  also  instruct- 
ing him  to  notify  the  priests  that  the  founding  of 
the  two  missions  was  for  the  present  suspended. 
In  conformity  therefore  with  this  order  Lieutenant 
Moraga  with  Sergeant  Grijalva  and  sixteen  soldiers, 
two  priests,  seven  colonists,  besides  servants,  arrieros, 
and  vaqueros,  left  Monterey,  June  17th,  and  took 
the  road  followed  by  Anza  to  the  peninsula  of  San 
Francisco.  They  traveled  slowly,  the  men  having 
their  families  with  them,  and  on  the  27th  reached 
the  site  selected  by  Anza  for  the  mission  and  camped 
on  the  bank  of  the  Laguna  de  Manantial,  which 
they  called  the  Laguna  de  los  Dolores,  taking  the 
name  from  the  arroyo.  The  packet  boat  San  Carlos 
was  to  sail  from  Monterey  with  the  stores  and  the 
remainder  of  the  expedition.  While  waiting  the 
arrival  of  the  vessel  Moraga  employed  the  men  in 
cutting  timber  for  the  buildings  of  the  presidio  and 
mission.  After  waiting  a  month  for  the  vessel 
Moraga  moved  the  greater  part  of  his  command  to 
the  site  selected  for  the  presidio,  leaving  six  soldiers 


WW 


%;4 


THE  MISSION  OF  SAN  FRANCISCO  DE  ASIS 

AS  IT  APPEARED  IN  1849 

Photographed  by  Turrill  and  Miller  from  a 

daguerreotype. 


■^f^Bmr^fsi"^- 


GINNINGS    OF    SA^ 

or,  and  the  monument  erected  in  San  Francisco 
le  Pioneers  of  California  is  incomp  hout 

I  •  oiii  oan  Diego  Rivera  wrote  Moraga  lo  j'Uiiu 
houses  at  Monterey  for  the  people  of  the  expedition 
as  there  would  be  a  year's  delay  before  the  presidio 
could  be  founded  at  San  Francisco;  but  on  May  8th, 
the  comandante,  having  changed  his  mind,  ordered 
the  lieutenant  to  proceed  to  San  Francisco  and  estab- 
lish the  fort  on  the  site  selected  by  Anza,  also  instruct- 
ing him  to  notify  the  priests  that  the  founding  of 
the  two  missions  was  for  the  present  suspended. 
In  conformity  therefore  with  this  order  Lieutenant 

Moraea  with  Sere;eant  Griialva  and  sixteen  soldiers, 

.        8I2A  aa  o::?2nMA^i  ma8  to  hoi32IM  3HT. 
two  priests,  seven  cr^i^^i^im'A^^mWsk^^^'^^^  arrieros, 

and  vaquero^nkf^aaklj»bteGQii^u.1rU(a*3ifci^iad^di^     took 

the  road  followed  by  Ai?t;^°^?g?"fHfe  peninsula  of  San 

Francisco.     They  traveled  slowly,  the  men  having 

^h^'ir  families  with  them,  and  on  the  27th  reached 

ion  and  camped 

)f  the  Laguna  de  Manantial,  which 

^  '     '         ■  '       -    taking  the 

h„ .  -It  San  Carlos 

was  to  sail  fro  terey  with  the  stores  and  the 

remainder  of   the   expedition.     While   waitin; 

arrival  of  the  vessel  Moraga  employed  th-  1 

cutting  timber  for  the  buildings  of  t^'^  '-'■■  1 

mission.     After    waiting    a    month  ^1 

Moraga  moved  the  greater  part  of  o 

selected  for  the  presidio,  lea  .  soldiers 


San  Francisco  Founded  151 

to  guard  the  camp  on  the  Laguna  de  los  Dolores. 
On  August  1 8th  the  paquebot  arrived,  seventy-three 
days  from  Monterey,  having  been  driven  by  adverse 
winds  as  far  south  as  San  Diego.  The  commander 
of  the  San  Carlos,  Lieutenant  Fernando  de  Quiros, 
sent  his  sailors  ashore  and  they,  with  the  soldiers, 
began  the  construction  of  the  buildings  at  the  presidio 
and  mission.  At  the  former  were  built  a  chapel,  a 
storehouse,  and  quarters  for  the  troops,  all  of  wood, 
and  thatched  with  rushes.  Before  the  arrival  of  the 
San  Carlos,  on  the  loth  day  of  August,  1776,  was  born 
the  first  white  child  in  San  Francisco  to  the  wife 
of  the  soldier  De  Soto  in  the  camp  at  the  mission. 

On  the  17th  of  September,  "The  anniversary  of 
the  impression  of  the  wounds  of  our  father  Saint 
Francis,  patron  of  the  presidio  and  fort,"  as  Father 
Palou  says,  they  took  formal  possession  of  the  pre- 
sidio. Father  Palou  said  mass,  blessed  the  site, 
and  after  the  elevation  and  adoration  of  the  Holy 
Cross,  concluded  the  religious  services  with  the  Te 
Deum.  Then  Moraga  and  his  officers  took  formal 
possession  in  the  name  of  the  sovereign  and  with 
discharges  of  cannon  by  the  San  Carlos  and  the 
shore  batteries,  and  volleys  of  musketry  from  the 
troops,  the  city  of  San  Francisco  was  born.* 


*  The  authorities  for  the  narrative  of  Anza's  two  journeys  are  his  diary  of 
1774,  his  diary  of  1775-6,  Pedro  Font's  diary  of  1775-6,  and  Garces  diary  of 
I775~6.  Of  Anza's  subsequent  career  little  is  known.  After  his  return  from 
CaHfornia  he  was  made  governor  of  New  Mexico  where  he  served  until  April, 
1788.  He  died  December  19th  of  that  year  and  his  widow  and  heirs  were  paid 
a  year's  salary  of  a  colonel  of  cavalry — twenty-four  hundred  dollars. 


Chapter  VII. 

COLONIZATION 

1769-1836 


BEFORE  proceeding  to  the  story  of  the  formation 
of  the  modern  city  of  San  Francisco  let  us 
consider  the  method  adopted  for  the  reduc- 
tion and  settlement  of  the  newly  occupied  territory 
and  the  administration  of  its  affairs,  temporal  and 
spiritual. 

In  the  scheme  to  colonize  California  the  missions 
were  to  play  an  important  part.  They  were  intended 
from  the  beginning  to  be  temporary  in  their  charac- 
ter, and  it  was  contemplated  that  in  ten  years  from 
their  foundation  they  should  cease.  It  was  sup- 
posed that  within  that  period  of  time  the  Indians 
would  be  sufficiently  instructed  in  Christianity  and 
the  arts  of  civilized  life  to  assume  the  position  and 
character  of  citizens;  that  these  mission  settlements 
would  become  pueblos,  and  that  the  mission  churches 
would  become  parish  churches,  organized  like  other 
establishments  of  an  ecclesiastical  character  in  other 
portions  of  the  nation  where  no  missions  ever  existed,* 
The  missionary  establishments  were  widely  different 
from  the  ordinary  ecclesiastical  organizations.  They 
had  for  their  object  something  more  than  the 
spiritual  care  of  those  connected  with  them.  They 
were  intended  not  merely  to  christianize  but  to 
civilize  the  Indians;  to  instruct  them  in  the  arts, 
and  to  guide  their  labors;  and  the  charge  was 
committed  to  priests  who  were  specially  trained  in 
such  work.     The  scheme  was  not  a  new  one;  it  had 


*  Judge  Alpheus  Felch,  of  the  Land  Commission:      Opinion  in  re  Petition  of 
the  Bishop  of  California. 


156       The  Beginnings  of  San  Francisco 

been  in  operation  in  Sonora  and  Lower  California 
for  a  hundred  years,  but  it  was  expanded  in  Cali- 
fornia and  its  results,  aside  from  its  colonizing  value, 
justified  those  who  put  it  into  operation.  "At  the 
end  of  sixty  years  (1834)  the  missionaries  of  Alta 
California  found  themselves  in  possession  of  twenty- 
one  prosperous  missions,  planted  upon  a  line  of  about 
seven  hundred  miles,  running  from  San  Diego  north 
to  the  latitude  of  Sonoma.  More  than  thirty  thou- 
sand Indian  converts  were  lodged  in  the  mission 
buildings,  receiving  religious  culture,  assisting  at 
divine  worship  and  cheerfully  performing  their  easy 
tasks.  Over  four  hundred  thousand  horned  cattle 
pastured  on  the  plains  as  well  as  sixty  thousand 
horses  and  more  than  three  hundred  thousand  sheep, 
goats,  and  swine.  Seventy  thousand  bushels  of 
wheat  were  raised  annually,  which,  with  maize, 
beans  and  the  like,  made  up  an  annual  crop  of  one 
hundred  and  twenty  thousand  bushels;  while,  ac- 
cording to  the  climate,  the  different  missions  rivaled 
each  other  in  the  production  of  wine,  brandy,  soap, 
leather,  hides,  wool,  oil,  cotton,  hemp,  linen,  tobacco, 
salt,  and  soda.  Of  two  hundred  thousand  horned 
cattle  slaughtered  annually,  the  missions  furnished 
about  one  half,  whose  hides  and  tallow  were  sold 
at  a  net  result  of  about  ten  dollars  each,  making  a 
million  dollars  from  that  source  alone,  while  other 
articles  of  which  no  definite  statistics  can  be  obtained 
doubtless  reached  an  equal  value,  making  a  total 
production    by    the    missions    themselves,    of    two 


Great  Prosperity  of  the  Missions       157 

millions  of  dollars  per  annum.  Gardens,  vineyards, 
and  orchards  surrounded  all  the  missions,  except 
Dolores,  San  Rafael,  and  San  Francisco  Solano; 
the  climate  of  the  first  being  too  inhospitable,  and 
the  two  latter,  born  near  the  advent  of  the  Mexican 
revolution,  being  stifled  in  their  infancy.  The 
other  missions,  according  to  their  latitude,  were 
ornamented  and  enriched  with  plantations  of  palm 
trees,  bananas,  oranges,  olives,  and  figs,  with  orchards 
of  European  fruits,  and  with  vast  and  fertile  vine- 
yards, whose  products  were  equally  valuable  for 
sale  and  exchange,  and  for  the  diet  and  comfort  of 
the  inhabitants. 

"Aside  from  these  valuable  properties  and  from 
the  mission  buildings,  the  self-moving  or  live  stock 
of  the  missions,  valued  at  their  current  rates, 
amounted  to  three  millions  of  dollars  of  the  most 
active  capital,  bringing  enormous  annual  returns 
upon  its  aggregate  amount,  and,  owing  to  the  great 
fertility  of  animals  in  California,  more  than  repairing 
its  annual  waste  by  slaughter. 

"Such  was  the  great  religious  success  of  the 
Catholic  missions  in  Upper  California;  such  their 
material  prosperity  in  the  year  1834,  even  after 
many  depredations  had  been  committed  upon  them 
by  the  first  governors  of  the  regime  of  'Independ- 
ence.'"* 


•  John  W.  Dwindle :     The  Colonial  History  of  the  City  of  San  Francisco, 
page  44. 


158       The  Beginnings  of  San  Francisco 

After  the  conquest  of  California  the  absolute  title 
to  the  land  vested  In  the  crown,  and  the  Indians  were 
recognized  as  the  owners,  under  the  crown,  of  all 
the  land  needed  for  their  support.  The  missionaries 
had  only  the  use  of  the  land  for  mission  purposes, 
namely:  to  prepare  the  Indians  that  they  might.  In 
time,  take  possession  of  the  land  then  held  In  com- 
mon. This  accomplished,  the  missions  were  to  be 
secularized  and  made  pueblos  and  the  missionaries 
returned  to  their  convent.  As  the  years  rolled  by 
the  missions  became  wealthy  and  were  Indisposed  to 
relinquish  the  power  they  has  acquired.  In  their 
zealous  efforts  to  protect  the  Interests  of  their  wards 
they  claimed  all  the  land,  extending  their  possessions 
from  one  extremity  of  the  territory  to  the  other, 
making  the  bounds  of  one  mission  form  those  of 
another,  and  fighting  every  grant  made  to  an 
Individual.  They  held  the  Indians  In  subjection 
and  were  served  by  them  without  pay,  receiving  only 
food  and  a  very  limited  amount  of  clothing.  When 
It  came  to  a  division  of  the  property  under  the  orders 
for  secularization,  the  Indians  sold  or  otherwise 
disposed  of  their  portions  about  as  soon  as  they  were 
put  In  possession.  The  entire  scheme  failed  for 
the  reason  that  the  Indian's  lazy,  shiftless  nature, 
further  weakened  by  sixty  years  of  slavery,  made 
it  impossible  for  him  to  assume  the  rights  and 
responsibilities  of  citizenship. 

The  most  Important  factor  in  the  colonization 
of  California  was  the  soldier.     The  presldlal  soldiers 


Inducements  to  Settlers  159 

were  enlisted  for  ten  years  and  on  the  expiration  of 
this  term  of  service  they  were  entitled  to  land  in 
such  quantity  as  they  could  use.  Failure  to  put 
land  to  use  worked  a  forfeiture  of  the  grant.  In 
the  expectation  of  turning  the  soldier  into  a  settler 
care  was  taken  to  select  only  those  who  would  make 
good  citizens,  and  usually  married  men  were  taken. 
Settlers  were  also  enrolled  and  received  rations, 
and  pay  for  a  specified  period.  They  were  required 
to  live  in  the  pueblos  of  the  Spaniards,  where  to 
each  settler  {pohlador)  was  given  a  building  lot,  a 
lot  for  cultivation,  varying  from  seven  to  fourteen 
acres,  the  use  of  the  common  pasture  lands  for  his 
cattle,  and  for  the  common  use  of  all  were  the  rights 
of  Montes  and  Aguas — ^the  woods  and  waters.  In 
return,  the  settler  was  bound  to  hold  himself  ready 
to  march  at  the  order  of  the  governor.  In  spite 
of  the  inducements  thus  held  out  but  few  settlers 
would  come,  and  the  government  was  dependent  for 
population  on  the  natural  increase  from  the  families 
of  the  garrisons.  When  the  establishment  of  the 
pueblo  of  Los  Angeles  was  ordered,  Rivera  was  sent 
to  enroll  twenty-four  married  men,  healthy  and 
robust,  likely  to  lead  regular  lives,  and  to  set  a  good 
example  to  the  natives.  Extra  inducements  in  the 
way  of  increased  pay  and  other  privileges  were 
promised,  but  the  best  he  could  do  was  the  collection 
of  twelve  men  and  their  families;  viz:  two  Span- 
iards, two  negros,  four  Indians,  two  mulatos,  one 


i6o       The  Beginnings  of  San  Francisco 

mestizo,  and  one  "Chino.  "*  With  this  motley 
crew  the  famous  pueblo  of  La  Reina  de  los  Angeles 
was  founded.  Three  of  these  promising  settlers 
were,  within  a  year,  pronounced  worthless,  their 
property  was  taken  from  them,  and  they  were  sent 
away. 

Nor  was  the  attempt  to  establish  the  Villa  de 
Branciforte  more  successful.  A  miserable  band  of 
vagabonds  was  collected  at  Guadalajara  and  sent 
up  to  Monterey  on  the  transport  Concepcion.  They 
arrived  May  12,  I797,t  and  the  villa  was  founded 
some  time  in  July.  There  were  nine  of  the  founders; 
one  had  a  wife  and  five  children  and  two  others 
brought  wives.  They  were  a  worthless  lot  and 
continually  in  trouble  with  the  authorities.  Later 
the  village  became  the  home  of  many  retired  soldiers. 
The  site  selected  for  the  Villa  de  Branciforte  was 
across  the  river  from  Santa  Cruz,  and  there  it  was 
founded  despite  the  protests  of  the  padres,  who  did 
not  wish  a  pueblo  of  Spaniards  so  near  the  mission. 
It  was  named  in  honor  of  the  Marquis  de  Branci- 
forte, viceroy  of  New  Spain  and  now  forms  a  part 
of  the  city  of  Santa  Cruz.  This  ended  the  attempts 
of  Spain  to  form  pueblos  of  Spaniards  in  California. 
In  all,  three  were  founded,  viz:  San  Jose  de  Guada- 


*  A  Chino  is  the  off-spring  of  a  Salta  Atras  and  an  Indian  woman.  A  Salta 
Atras  is  the  off-spring  of  white  parents  having  a  trace  of  Negro  blood — whether 
Moorish  or  other  crossing.     (Chas.  F.  Lummis.) 

t  The  colonists  of  Branciforte  and  those  of  Los  Angeles  were  paid  $ii6, 
per  year  for  two  years  and  $66.  for  the  next  three  years,  besides  the  live  stock 
and  implements  furnished  them. 


Grants  of  Land  Authorized  i6i 

lupe,  in  1777,  a  description  of  which  is  given  else- 
where,* La  Reina  de  los  Angeles  in  1781,  and  La 
Villa  de  Branciforte  in  1797.  All  the  other  pueblos 
were  grown  from  mission  and  presidial  settlements. 

To  encourage  the  cultivation  of  the  soil  the  viceroy, 
as  early  as  1773,  authorized  the  comandante  of 
California  to  distribute  lands  to  such  persons,  either 
natives  or  Spanish,  as  were  worthy  and  would  devote 
themselves  to  agriculture  or  stock  raising;  and  later, 
when  discharged  soldiers  began  to  apply  for  land, 
Governor  Fages  was  authorized  to  grant  tracts  of 
land  not  exceeding  three  sitiosf — thirteen  thousand, 
three  hundred  acres — on  conditions  which  included 
the  building  of  a  stone  house  on  each  sitio  and  the 
keeping  of  at  least  two  thousand  head  of  live-stock. 
These  conditions  were  not  well  regarded  and  but  few 
grants  were  applied  for  before  the  close  of  the  eight- 
eenth century.  Besides,  the  grants  were  made 
subject  to  the  requirements  of  the  missions.  Thus 
a  portion  of  the  land  granted  to  the  soldier,  Jose 
Manuel  Nieto,  by  Fages  in  1784,  was  taken  from 
him  in  1796,  on  the  demand  of  the  padres  of  San 
Gabriel  who  claimed  it  for  their  neophytes;  and  in 
1797,  when  the  mission  of  San  Fernando  was  estab- 
lished, Los  Encinos,  the  rancho  of  Francisco  Reyes, 
was  taken  from  him  for  the  use  of  the  friars. 

Each  governor  of  California  endeavored  to  over- 
come the  backwardness  of  the  province  in  respect 


*  Note  22. 

t  Sitio:  one  square  league — 4438.68  acres. 


i62       The  Beginnings  of  San  Francisco 

to  population,  and  between  1792  and  1794,  a  number 
of  artisans  were  imported  to  instruct  the  inhabitants 
in  various  trades.  They  were  brought  under  con- 
tract for  four  and  five  years  and  every  effort  was 
made  to  induce  them  to  remain,  but  most  of  them 
returned  to  Mexico.  The  friars  received  the 
benefit  and  their  neophytes  were  taught  the  trades 
of  mason,  carpenter,  tanner,  weaver,  shoemaker,  etc. 

During  the  last  decade  of  the  century  Mexico  began 
sending  her  convicts  to  California.  This  undesirable 
class  of  settlers  was  unwelcome  and  the  Californians 
bitterly  resented  the  action  of  the  Mexican  authori- 
ties. Their  protests  were  unheeded  and  the  con- 
victs continued  to  come,  though  never  in  large 
numbers  and  I  do  not  find  that  they  made  much 
impression  upon  the  character  of  the  population. 
Under  the  rule  of  Borica,  1 794-1 800,  an  attempt  was 
made  to  import  young  marriageable  women  as  wives 
for  the  settlers,  especially  for  the  convict  settlers, 
as  the  padres  objected  to  the  convicts  marrying  the 
native  women.  Later  the  governor  asks  that  one 
hundred  young,  healthy  women  be  sent  him  for 
wives  for  the  pobladores.  These  women  did  not 
come,  but  there  were  sent  some  small  shipments  of 
foundlings,  both  boys  and  girls,  who  were  distributed 
among  the  families  of  the  different  presidios. 

The  colonization  of  California  was  very  slow  and 
in  1790,  the  only  year  in  which  I  have  a  full  padron 
of  the  territory,  the  entire  population,  not  counting 
aborigines,  was  but  989  souls. 


Why  the  Mission  Plan  Failed  163 

Why  was  it  that  in  a  country  so  blessed  as  Cali- 
fornia with  a  fertile  soil,  an  agreeable  climate,  and 
all  the  conditions  that  go  to  make  life  easy  and  com- 
fortable, the  efforts  to  colonize  it  should  meet  with 
such  dffiiculty?  We  find  two  obstacles  to  success: 
first,  the  prohibition  of  trade  with  the  ships  on  the 
coast  deprived  the  settlers  of  a  market  for  their 
product,  and,  second,  it  was  not  to  the  interest  of 
the  missions  to  promote  colonization.  By  the  end 
of  the  century  Spain  had  established  in  California 
eighteen  missions,  each  without  settlers,  but  each 
intending  to  become  a  pueblo,  and  each  entitled 
under  the  law  of  Philip  II,  to  four  leagues  of  land. 
In  addition  to  the  missions  were  the  three  pueblos 
of  Spaniards  referred  to,  containing  an  aggregate 
of  less  than  three  hundred  souls.  Emigrants  would 
not  come.  The  pay  and  the  rations  offered  only 
attracted  the  worthless  and  indolent.  The  mission 
scheme  had  failed.  The  vast  missionary  establish- 
ments absorbed  the  lands,  business,  and  capital  of 
the  country  and  all  interests  were  held  under 
ecclesiastical  sway;  there  was  no  individual  enter- 
prise and  immigration  was  discouraged.  The  power 
of  the  padres  was  such  that  they  not  only  dictated 
the  religious  policy  of  the  country  but  even  inter- 
fered with  its  civil  management.  All  proposed 
grants  of  land  were  submitted  to  them  and  they 
virtually  dictated  where  and  to  whom  lands  should 
be  given.*     In  1794,  Colonel  Costanso,  the  engineer 

*Colton:   Three  years  in  California,  440.     Forbes:  Hist,  of  Cal.,  133,  209. 


164       The  Beginnings  of  San  Francisco 

officer  who,  as  ensign,  had  accompanied  Portola  on 
his  famous  march  to  Monterey,  was  sent  to  Cali- 
fornia to  investigate  conditions  and  ascertain  the 
reason  for  the  lack  of  progress  in  the  settlement  of 
the  country.  His  report  condemned  the  mission 
plan  so  far  as  the  colonization  of  the  country  was 
concerned.  He  said  that  missions  many  years  old 
still  remained  in  charge  of  friars  and  presidial  guards; 
there  were  no  ship  owners  on  the  Pacific  coast;  no 
trade  in  the  South  Sea  and  therefore  no  revenue;  a 
lack  of  population,  and  the  province  was  a  great 
expense  to  the  crown.  There  were  no  inducements 
to  the  farmer  and  stock-raiser,  for  no  trade  was  per- 
mitted with  either  foreign  or  Spanish  ships,  but  only 
with  the  regular  transports.  He  said  that  settlers  of 
Spanish  blood  should  have  been  mingled  with  the 
natives  from  the  beginning,  and  that  every  ship 
should  bring  a  number  of  families  supplied  with 
proper  outfit. 

California  was  divided  into  four  presidial  districts. 
The  militar}^  establishment,  at  the  end  of  the  eight- 
eenth century,  consisted  of  a  lieutenant-colonel, 
who  was  the  governor,  four  lieutenants,  four  ensigns, 
one  surgeon,  six  sergeants,  sixteen  corporals,  and 
two  hundred  and  eighty-two  privates.  This  small 
force  had  to  guard  a  coast  line  of  six  hundred  miles, 
four  presidios,  three  pueblos,  and  eighteen  missions. 
The  territory  included  within  the  jurisdiction  of 
these  missionary  settlements  was  never  definitely 
settled  and  very  seldom  even  defined.     Some  bound- 


The  Bounds  of  the  Missions  165 

ary  lines  were  usually  recognized,  but  about  all 
that  is  certain  in  this  respect  seems  to  be  that  the 
jurisdiction  of  the  missions  extended  from  one 
mission  to  another  so  that  no  portion  of  the  coast 
country  could  be  said  not  to  be  included  in  some 
one  of  them.  The  designs  of  the  government  of 
Spain  were  often  interfered  with  by  the  religious 
power  which  it  fostered.  On  the  4th  of  January, 
1813,  Spain  passed  a  law  expressly  requiring  that 
all  vacant  lands  and  all  lands  for  municipal  uses 
in  her  provinces  beyond  the  sea,  except  com- 
mons necessary  for  villages,  should  be  reduced  to 
private  ownership;  and  that  in  disposing  of  lands 
the  settlers  in  the  towns  should  be  preferred  over 
others.  On  the  13th  of  September,  181 3,  Spain 
passed  another  law  expressly  requiring  that  all  her 
settlements  beyond  the  sea  should  be  taken  from 
the  control  of  the  priests  wherever  they  had  been 
for  ten  years  under  their  charge;  that  the  missionary 
priests  should  immediately  cease  from  the  govern- 
ment and  administration  of  the  property  of  those 
Indians,  leaving  it  to  them  to  dispose  of  it  through 
the  medium  of  their  ayuntamientos*  and  requiring 
the  superior  political  authority  to  name  the  most 
intelligent  among  the  Indians  to  direct  the  disposi- 
tion; and  also  again  requiring  that  the  lands  be 
distributed  and  reduced  to  private  property  con- 


*  Ayuntamiento:  town  council.  It  was  composed  of  one  alcalde,  two  regi- 
dores  (councilmen)  and  a  sindico-procurador  (city  attorney).  For  a  large  town, 
the  number  of  alcaldes  and  regidores  was  increased. 


i66       The  Beginnings  of  San  Francisco 

formably  to  the  law  of  January  4th.  From  this  will 
be  seen  the  intentions  of  Spain  in  regard  to  the  mis- 
sions. At  the  date  of  the  decrees  Ferdinand  VII 
was  a  prisoner  in  Paris  in  the  hands  of  Napoleon; 
upon  his  release,  on  the  226.  of  August,  18 14,  he 
repudiated  these,  with  other  acts  of  the  Spanish 
cortes;  but  they  were  all  revived  by  the  revolution 
of  1 8 19,  and  this  one  was  in  force  when  on  the  27th 
of  September,  1821,  Mexico  achieved  her  independ- 
ence. 

Of  all  the  aborigines  of  America,  the  Indians  of 
California  were  perhaps  the  least  capable  of  exercis- 
ing the  rights  and  privileges  of  citizenship,  and  the 
education  they  received  from  the  friars  was  not  of 
a  nature  to  prepare  them  for  such  a  responsibility. 
Nevertheless,  Mexican  independence  was  promptly 
followed  by  an  order  to  liberate  all  pueblo  Indians 
of  good  character  and  grant  to  them  lands  for  their 
maintenance.  It  was  ordered  that  the  salaries 
paid  the  missionary  priests  (^400  per  annum) 
should  be  stopped;  that  the  mission  settlements 
should  be  formed  into  pueblos  with  a  curate  for 
each;  that  the  country  should  support  its  own 
priests,  and  that  liberal  donations  of  lands  should 
be  made  to  the  pueblo  Indians,  who  were  supposed 
to  be  able  to  maintain  themselves.  But  the  Indians 
for  the  most  part  were  mere  slaves.  The  order  for 
their  sudden  liberation  proved  disastrous  and  had 
to  be  modified.  The  reglamento  of  November  21, 
1828,  provided  that  the  lands  occupied  by  the  mis- 


Secularization  Ordered  167 

sions  should  not  be  colonized  at  present.  Some 
provision  had  to  be  first  made  for  the  Indians. 
This  was  a  stay  of  proceedings  and  the  rule  of  the 
friars  continued.  On  the  17th  of  August,  1833,  the 
Mexican  congress  passed  a  law  on  the  basis  of  the 
Spanish  law  of  January  4,  181 3,  to  force  the  mission 
settlements  from  the  control  of  the  priests,  to  organ- 
ize local  civil  governments,  and  to  grant  the  lands 
they  occupied  to  settlers.  This  act  was  supple- 
mented by  another,  November  4th,  of  the  same  year, 
authorizmg  the  government  to  transport  emigrants 
from  Mexico  to  settle  upon  these  mission  lands  of 
Alta  California.  On  the  i6th  of  April,  1834,  another 
law  on  the  same  subject  was  passed  requiring  all 
the  missions  in  the  republic  to  be  secularized. 

In  all  these  acts  of  the  Mexican  congress  for 
granting  lots  to  settlers,  the  rights  of  the  Indians 
were  to  be  respected.  The  territorial  diputacion 
of  California  declared  on  October  21,  1834,  that  all 
the  property,  real  and  personal,  of  the  missions 
belonged  to  the  converted  or  pueblo  Indians,  and  that 
they  were  its  only  owners.  General  Jose  Figueroa, 
the  able  and  upright  governor  of  California,  mindful 
of  the  rights  of  the  pueblo  Indians  who  had  created 
the  wealth  of  the  missions,  published  on  the  9th  of 
August,  1834,  a  reglamento  giving  effect  to  the  law 
of  1833,  to  begin  the  conversion  to  the  missions  into 
pueblos.  He  decreed  that  to  the  head  of  each  family, 
and  to  every  man  over  twenty-one  years  of  age  whether 
the  head  of  a  family  or  not,  should  be  given  a  lot 


i68       The  Beginnings  of  San  Francisco 

of  land,  irrigable  or  otherwise,  not  more  than  four 
hundred  nor  less  than  one  hundred  varas  square, 
from  the  common  land  of  the  missions;  and  in  com- 
munity, a  sufficient  quantity  of  land  should  be 
allotted  to  them  for  pasturage  and  for  watering  their 
cattle;  that  ejidos  (common  lands)  should  be  assigned 
each  pueblo  and,  when  convenient,  propios*  also; 
that  they  should  receive  one-half  of  all  self-moving 
property  (live-stock),  and  one-half  or  less  of  all 
chattels,  while  instruments  and  seeds  were  to  be 
divided  among  them  in  proportion  to  their  needs. 
The  rest  of  the  property  was  to  be  retained  by  the 
government  for  the  support  of  the  churches,  schools, 
etc.,  and  the  cost  of  administration  of  the  missions. 

*  Propios,  were  such  lands,  houses,  and  other  properties  of  pueblos  and  cities 
as  were  rented  and  the  proceeds  thereof  applied  in  the  payment  of  municipal 
expenses. 


Chapter  VIII. 
SECULARIZATION 


THE  purpose  for  which  the  missions  were 
created  has  been  shown  in  the  preceding 
pages.  That  the  missionary  estabHshments 
were  to  be  retired  when  their  work  was  done  has  also 
been  made  clear.  There  was  no  misunderstanding 
of  the  government's  intentions  in  this  respect,  least 
of  all  on  the  part  of  the  missionary  priests,  yet  in 
many  instances  they  allowed  the  impression  to  pre- 
vail that  they  were  cruelly  wronged. 

The  secularization  of  the  missions  has  been 
denounced  in  unmeasured  terms.  It  has  been 
represented  as  an  outrage  against  the  thirty  thousand 
Christianized  Indians  who  enjoyed  the  beneficence 
and  created  the  wealth  of  the  missions  of  California, 
against  the  good  and  devoted  men  who  with  such 
wisdom,  sagacity,  and  self-sacrifice  reared  those 
wonderful  institutions  in  the  wilderness;  against 
the  church,  and  against  the  peace  and  welfare  of 
the  province.  The  Franciscan  monks  were  generally 
driven  out,  says  De  Mofras,  but  the  parish  priests 
did  not  arrive,  so  that  the  neophytes  were  generally 
left  without  teachers  or  protectors,  and  the  services 
for  the  most  part  ceased.  The  mayor-domos  ap- 
pointed to  take  charge  of  the  missions  were  often 
brutal  and  illiterate  persons — sometimes  those  who 
had  been  menial  servants;  so  that  frequently  the 
missionary  was  at  the  mercy  of  one  of  his  former 
herdsmen.  The  few  missionaries  who  remained 
were  insulted,  thwarted,  stinted  in  their  allowance, 

171 


172       The  Beginnings  of  San  Francisco 

and,  in  some  instances,  died  of  starvation  while 
ministering  at  the  altar.*  Wilkes,  who  found  little 
to  commend  in  California,  said  that  with  the  change 
of  rulers  anarchy  and  confusion  began  to  reign,  that 
the  want  of  authority  was  everywhere  felt,  that  some 
of  the  missions  were  deserted,  the  property  dissipated 
and  the  Indians  turned  out  to  seek  their  native 
wilds.  Secularization  had  brought  ruin  to  the  mis- 
sions and  that  the  property  that  was  still  left  became 
a  prey  to  the  rapacity  of  the  governor,  the  needy 
officers,  and  the  administrador.f  The  Indians 
complained  of  the  fact  that  they  had  endured  out- 
rages from  the  whites  who  had  deprived  them  of  the 
cattle  which  had  been  given  them,  and  pastured 
their  own  flocks  upon  the  small  patches  of  ground 
which  had  been  assigned  to  them  for  cultivation  and 
that  the  civil  authorities  themselves  had  pillaged 
them.  They  returned  therefore  to  their  native 
tribes  among  the  tulares  whence  they  issued  in 
raids  upon  the  missions  and  settlements  sweeping 
off  herds  of  cattle  and  horses,  and  sometimes  carry- 
ing into  captivity  the  wives  and  daughters  of  the 
whites.  These  latter  retaliated  by  excursions  into 
the  Indian  country,  in  which  whole  villages  were 
devoted  to  slaughter,  rapine,  and  burning,  by  the 
wild  and  indiscriminate  fury  of  revenge. {  Edwin 
Bryant  says :     "The  administrators  have  made  them- 


*  De  Mofras:  Exploration,  i,  pp.  273,  303,  342,  380-390,  421. 

t  Wilkes:     Exploring  Expedition  v,  162,  168. 

t  De  Mofras  i,  347,  414:     Wilkes,  Exp.  Expedition  v,  173,  174. 


Missions  Belonged  to  Government      173 

selves  and  those  by  whom  they  were  appointed, 
rich  upon  the  spoils  of  the  missions."*  Alfred 
Robinson  too,  who,  whatever  may  have  been  his 
training  in  his  New  England  home,  was  a  faithful 
friend  of  the  church  in  California,  loses  no  oppor- 
tunity to  score  the  government  and  the  administra- 
tors of  the  missions. 

Let  us  consider  for  a  moment  how  much  of  this 
censure  is  deserved.  Bryant  was  here  for  a  few 
months  only,  long  after  the  secularization  of  the 
missions  was  accomplished.  De  Mofras'  observation 
was  superficial,  and  while  he  wrote  copiously  of  the 
secularization  his  information  was  largely  hearsay. 
Wilkes  was  here  in  the  same  year,  1841,  and  his 
information  on  this  point  was  from  the  same  source 
as  that  of  De  Mofras. ^^  Alfred  Robinson  was  in 
California  throughout  most  of  the  period  of  secu- 
larization and  his  opportunities  for  observation  were 
excellent,  but  his  statements  are  so  general  that 
little  can  be  done  with  them  by  way  of  analysis. 

Most  of  the  writers  of  the  period  following  the 
secularization  assume  that  the  missions,  with  their 
great  holdings  of  real  and  personal  property,  belonged 
to  the  church  or  that  the  property  belonged  to  the 
missionary  establishments  as  corporations.  Such 
however  was  not  the  case.  The  missions  belonged 
to  the  government  and  were  established  under  its 
direction.  The  missions  of  Lower  California  estab- 
lished by  the  Jesuits  were,  in  1768,  taken  from  them 

*  Bryant;     What  1  saw  in  California,  444. 


174       "The  Beginnings  of  San  Francisco 

by  order  of  the  king  and  placed  in  the  custody  of 
the  Franciscans.  Later,  when  the  estabHshment  of 
a  chain  of  missions  in  Alta  California  was  determined, 
the  Franciscans  relinquished  the  missions  of  Lower 
California  to  the  Dominicans,  who  felt  that  their 
order  had  not  received  proper  consideration,  and 
confined  themselves  to  the  new  establishments  of 
Alta  California.  Moreover,  the  government  control 
and  direction  of  the  missions  is  seen  in  all  the  orders 
and  regulations  concerning  them.  It  was  the  duty 
of  the  governor  to  choose  their  sites,  direct  the  con- 
struction and  arrangement  of  their  edifices,  and  to 
lay  out  their  streets  regularly,  as,  the  viceroy 
advised,  a  mission  may  become  a  pueblo  and  the 
pueblo  grow  into  a  great  city.  Not  only  this,  but 
the  governor  had  a  right  to  reduce  their  possessions 
by  grants  of  land  to  Indians  and  to  settlers  {pob- 
ladores)  within  their  so-called  boundaries,  and  could 
change  a  mission  into  a  pueblo  and  subject  it  to  the 
same  laws  that  governed  other  pueblos.  Bucareli,^'^ 
viceroy  of  New  Spain,  in  his  letter  of  instructions  to 
the  comandante  of  the  new  establishments  of  San 
Diego  and  Monterey,  dated  August  17,  1773,  said: 
"When  it  becomes  expedient  to  change  any  mission 
into  a  pueblo,  the  comandante  will  proceed  to  reduce 
it  to  the  civil  and  economical  government,  which, 
according  to  the  laws,  is  observed  in  the  other  pueblos 
of  this  kingdom,  giving  it  a  name,  and  declaring  for 
its  patron  the  saint  under  whose  auspices  and  vener- 


Figueroa's  Policy  Wise  and  Humane    175 

able  protection  the  mission  was  founded."*  Thus 
at  the  very  foundation  of  these  CaHfornia  estabHsh- 
ments  did  Spain  announce  the  end  and  complete 
fulfilment  of  all  missions. 

The  change  by  which  the  monastic  monopoly  was 
to  be  broken  up  involved  no  wrong  to  the  church, 
the  Franciscan  order,  or  to  the  Indians.  Figueroa's 
regulations  by  which  the  policy  and  the  law  were  to 
be  carried  out  were  wise  and  humane,  but  it  cannot 
be  denied  that  sixty-five  years  of  tutelage  had  left 
the  Indian  no  more  fitted  to  assume  the  responsibili- 
ties of  citizenship  than  it  found  him.  Colonization 
was  obliged  to  wait  upon  secularization,  and  there 
could  be  no  political  organization  where  there  was 
no  population.  The  missions  occupied  all  Cali- 
fornia, and  while  all  the  land  was  not  needed,  and 
ought  not  to  be  distributed  among  the  Indians,  the 
government  could  not  undertake  to  make  grants  of 
national  lands  until  the  requirements  of  the  Indians 
were  ascertained  and  provided  for.  Secularization 
would  accomplish  this  and  the  property  of  the 
government  and  that  of  th£  Indians  would  be 
separated  when  the  missions  became  pueblos. 

The  great  wealth  of  the  missions  could  not  fail 
to  excite  the  avarice  of  those  whose  official  position 
gave  opportunity  for  plunder.  Already  the  looting 
had  begun  and  in  some  instances  a  decline  in  the 
prosperity  of  the  missions  had  been  noticed  before 
the  process  of  secularization  was  under  way.     Under 

*  H.  R.  Ex.  Doc,  No.  17,  31st  Cong.,  ist  Session  1850,  p.  133-4. 


176       The  Beginnings  of  San  Francisco 

the  influence  of  Echeandia,  governor  from  1825  to 
183 1,  assisted  by  his  inspector-general,  Jose  Maria 
Padres,  a  spirit  of  revolt  had  been  incited  among  the 
neophytes  and  a  general  feeling  of  unrest  prevailed. 
In  1833  a  scheme  for  the  colonization  of  California 
was  organized  in  the  city  of  Mexico  which  received 
the  aid  and  support  of  the  Federal  government.  So 
far  as  the  planting  of  a  colony  in  California  was  con- 
cerned the  scheme  was  apparently  legitimate.  But 
the  fact  that  its  chief  promoter  was  Jose  Maria 
Padres,  the  person  mainly  responsible  for  the  revolt 
of  the  neophytes,  caused  a  feeling  of  uneasiness  among 
the  missions.  Associated  with  Padres  was  Jose 
Maria  Hijar,  a  man  of  wealth  and  position.  Hijar 
was  appointed  governor  of  California  and  director 
of  colonization,  and  Figueroa  was  directed  to  deliver 
to  him  the  missions.  With  two  hundred  and  fifty 
colonists  Hijar  and  Padres,  who  had  been  appointed 
sub-director,  sailed  from  San  Bias  in  August,  1834,  in 
two  ships,  and  after  a  rough  voyage  landed,  one  at 
San  Diego  and  the  other  at  Monterey.  Meanwhile 
a  change  of  administration  in  Mexico  had  retired  the 
friends  of  the  scheme  from  office;  the  appointment 
of  Hijar  was  revoked  and  a  special  courier  was  sent 
express  to  Governor  Figueroa  forbidding  him  to 
deliver  the  missions  to  Hijar  and  his  associates. 
These  instructions  reached  Monterey  in  advance  of 
Hijar  and  confronted  him  wh  n  he  presented  his 
orders  to  the  governor.  He  tried  to  bribe  Figueroa 
to  deliver  him  the  missions  but  in  this  he  failed,  and 


Destruction  of  Mission  Property       177 

charges  of  conspiracy  being  preferred  against  him  and 
his  associates,  they  were  returned  to  Mexico  to 
answer.  The  unfortunate  colonists,  deprived  of 
the  support  of  their  leaders,  were  after  a  period  of 
distress  merged  in  the  settlers  of  the  northern  mis- 
sions. Among  them  all  there  was  not  one  of  the 
class  California  stood  most  in  need  of,  agriculturists. 
Some  of  the  missionary  fathers  regarded  seculari- 
zation as  an  outrage  upon  themselves  and  their 
neophytes  and,  when  convinced  that  it  could  not  be 
averted,  ceased  to  care  for  the  buildings,  vineyards, 
and  gardens,  as  in  former  times,  and  attempted  to 
realize  in  ready  money  as  large  an  amount  as  possible. 
Information  concerning  the  Hijar-Padres  company 
was  circulated  throughout  the  missions  and  the 
priests  resolved  to  defeat  the  scheme  if  possible.  At 
many  of  the  establishments  orders  were  given  for 
the  immediate  slaughter  of  their  cattle,  and  con- 
tracts were  made  with  individuals  to  kill  them  and 
divide  the  proceeds  with  the  missions.  Thousands 
of  cattle  were  slain  for  their  hides  only,  while  their 
carcases  remained  to  rot  on  the  plains,  and  in  this 
way  a  vast  amount  of  tallow  and  beef  was  entirely 
lost.  The  rascally  contractors  who  were  enriching 
themselves  so  easily,  were  not  satisfied  with  their 
legitimate  profit,  but  secretly  appropriated  to  them- 
selves two  hides  for  one  given  to  the  missions.  A 
wanton  spirit  of  destruction  seemed  to  possess  them, 
co-equal  with  their  desire  for  plunder,  and  they  contin- 
ued to  ravage  and  lay  waste.     In  like  manner  other 


178       The  Beginnings  of  San  Francisco 

interests  of  the  establishments  were  neglected  by  the 
missionaries  and  the  missions  gradually  fell  to  decay.* 

The  curates  that  were  to  be  appointed  to  the  newly 
created  parishes  never  came,  and  the  friars  remained 
to  serve  as  curates,  being  relieved  of  temporal  man- 
agement but  cooperating  with  the  mayor-domos  in 
supervising  the  labors  and  conduct  of  the  Indians. 
Many  of  the  friars  accepted  the  situation  and  did 
the  best  they  could,  striving  to  reconcile  discordant 
elements  and  retain  their  influence  over  the  neo- 
phytes; others,  soured  and  disappointed,  retired 
sullenly  to  the  habitations  assigned  them  by  law  and 
mechanically  performed  the  duties  of  parish  priests 
when  applied  to;  others  were  belligerent,  quarreled 
with  everybody,  and  protested  against  everything 
on  every  possible  occasion. f 

The  secularization  proceeded.  Lands  were  as- 
signed to  the  neophytes  who  also  received  a  portion 
of  the  mission  property  consisting  of  cattle,  horses, 
sheep,  grain,  implements,  etc.  It  was  forbidden  to 
buy  from  them,  but  this  precaution  amounted  to 
nothing,  and  in  about  a  year  the  Indians  had  either 
sold  or  gambled  away  what  they  had  not  eaten  or 
drunk.  After  a  while  some  died  and  the  rest  dis- 
persed, abandoning  their  lands  which  eventually 
fell  into  the  hands  of  rancheros  under  grants  from 
the  government. I 


*  Robinson:     Life  in  California,  168-9. 
t  Bancroft:     Hist.  Cal.  iv,  42,  51. 
X  Id.  iv,  230. 


Death  of  Figueroa  179 

In  the  midst  of  the  work  the  honest  and  humane 
Figueroa  died,  mind  and  body  worn  out  by  the  repeated 
attacks  of  the  missionaries,  the  representations  of  the 
Indians,  and  the  disordered  state  of  the  country.  He 
was  mourned  by  the  people  and  proclaimed  by  the 
most  excellent  diputacion  "Bienhechor  del  territorio 
de  la  Alta  California"  (Benefactor  of  the  territory  of 
Alta  California).  Then  followed  a  period  of  revolu- 
tion, the  reign  of  four  governors  of  California,  and 
the  proclamation  of  the  diputacion  of  November  7, 
1836,  declaring  that  Alta  California  was  independent 
of  Mexico  and  a  free  and  governing  state,  under  the 
governorship  of  Juan  Bautista  Alvarado,  with  Mar- 
iano Guadalupe  Vallejo,  raised  from  the  rank  of 
lieutenant  to  colonel  of  cavalry,  comandante-general, 
and  Jose  Castro,  president  of  the  diputacion. 

The  evils  that  befell  the  missions  in  the  process  of 
secularization  have  been  largely  attributed  to  the 
administration  of  Alvarado,  but  a  careful  study  of 
the  evidence  will  not  justify  the  censure  he  has 
received.  It  must  be  remembered  that  the  period 
of  his  administration,  1 836-1 842,  was  one  of  revolu- 
tion, strife,  and  political  unrest.  The  north  was 
divided  against  the  south;  the  province  was  filled 
with  warring  factions,  and  among  them,  engaged  first 
with  one  party  then  with  another,  were  bands  of 
armed  foreigners,  chiefly  Americans.  In  spite  of 
the  condition  of  the  country  Alvarado  made  earnest 
efforts  to  supervise  the  work  of  secularization  and 


i8o       The  Beginnings  of  San  Francisco 

check  the  spoliation  of  the  missions.  He  appointed 
William  E.  P.  Hartnell,  an  Englishman  of  high  stand- 
ing and  intelligence,  fifteen  years  a  resident  of  Cali- 
fornia, inspector  and  visitador  of  the  missions. 
Hartnell  visited  each  mission  and  made  a  most 
conscientious  examination  of  its  affairs,  and  on  his 
report  the  governor  made  a  number  of  changes  in  the 
administration  looking  to  a  betterment  of  the  service. 

If  Alvarado  had  had  an  intelligent  and  industrious 
body  of  neophytes  to  organize  into  self-governing 
pueblos,  the  hearty  cooperation  of  the  missionaries, 
and  a  community  free  from  sectional  strife,  the  story 
might  have  been  different.  There  is  no  evidence 
that  he  profited  personally  through  the  secularization 
and  he  passed  the  later  years  of  his  life  in  modest 
retirement  on  the  rancho  his  wife  inherited  from  her 
father. 

The  secularization  of  the  missions  opened  up  Cali- 
fornia to  settlement.  In  1830  there  were  in  the  entire 
province  not  more  than  fifty  ranchos  in  private  pos- 
session. In  1846,  above  seven  hundred  land  grants 
had  been  made  by  the  authorities.  Many  of  these, 
it  is  true,  had  been  distributed  among  the  friends  of 
the  administration,  and  Alvarado  also  loaned  mission 
stock  to  rancheros  to  be  returned  in  kind  later,  though 
it  does  not  appear  what  proportion,  if  any,  of  this 
property  was  returned  to  the  government.  The 
policy  of  the  government  towards  foreigners  was 
liberal  and  many  of  them  obtained  valuable  tracts 
of  land. 


Benefits  of  Secui^arization  i8i 

Altogether  the  secularization  of  the  missions  was 
of  the  greatest  benefit  to  California,  notwithstanding 
the  evils  which  accompanied  it.  Alfred  Robinson, 
true  friend  of  the  church  as  he  was,  says:  "To 
secure  lands  for  farming  purposes,  it  was,  in  former 
years,  necessary  to  get  the  written  consent  of  the 
missionaries  under  whose  control  they  were,  ere  the 
government  could  give  legitimate  possession,  therefore 
their  acquisition  depended  entirely  upon  the  good 
will  of  the  friars.  It  may  be  justly  supposed  that 
by  this  restriction  the  advancement  of  California 
was  rather  retarded.  So  it  was,  for  the  immigrant 
was  placed  at  the  mercy  of  a  prejudiced  missionary 
who  might  be  averse  to  anything  like  secular  improve- 
ment; for  although  these  religionists  were  generally 
possessed  of  generous  feelings,  still,  many  of  them 
were  extremely  jealous  of  an  infringement  upon  the 
interests  of  their  institutions.  *  *  *  At  first  the 
change  (secularization)  was  considered  disastrous 
to  the  prosperity  of  California,  and  the  wanton  de- 
struction of  property  which  followed  seemed  to  war- 
rant the  conclusion;  but  the  result,  however,  proved 
quite  the  contrary.  Individual  enterprise  which 
succeeded  has  placed  the  country  in  a  more  flourish- 
ing condition,  and  the  wealth  instead  of  being  con- 
fined to  the  monastic  institutions  as  before,  has  been 
distributed  among  the  people."* 

The  era  of  the  missions  was  closed,  and  the  ranch- 
eros  with  their  flocks  and  herds  rivaled  the  patriarchs. 

*  Robinson:     Life  in  California,  224-5. 


Chapter  IX. 
THE  GOLDEN  AGE 


IN  1834  the  California  of  the  Spaniards  had  as  yet 
undergone  no  great  change.  Figueroa,  then  ad- 
ministering the  affairs  of  the  country,  found 
himself  in  the  midst  of  an  era  of  innovations — at  the 
end  of  the  spiritual  dominion  of  the  missionary  fathers 
and  the  beginning  of  the  attempt  to  introduce  a  new 
civilization.  "From  1769, "  says  Edmond  Randolph,* 
"when  Father  Junipero  Serra  and  the  body  of  mission- 
ary priests  who  followed  him  first  reached  the  spot 
where  they  founded  San  Diego,  sixty-five  years  had 
elapsed  of  a  tranquillity  seldom  witnessed  on  this 
earth. "  The  cattle  upon  the  rich  pasture  multiplied 
and  the  missions  grew  in  wealth  and  importance. 
Shrewd  traders  too  were  the  good  padres,  and  the 
Boston  ships  trading  on  the  coast  soon  learned  to  re- 
spect the  business  ability  of  the  priests.  To  the  In- 
dians they  were,  as  a  rule,  kind  and  gentle,  teaching 
them  the  Christian  religion,  accustoming  them  to  a 
regular  life,  and  inuring  them  to  labor.  They  were 
well  qualified  for  their  work  and  many  of  them  were 
highly  cultivated  men — soldiers,  engineers,  artists, 
lawyers,  and  physicians  before  they  became  Francis- 
cans. Up  to  the  year  1833  they  were  all  from  the 
College  of  San  Fernando  in  the  City  of  Mexico,  but  in 
that  year  the  seven  missions  north  of  San  Carlos  de 
Monterey  were  given  in  charge  of  the  priests  of  the 
college  of  Nuestra  Senora  de  Guadalupe  de  Zacatecas. 
The  Zacatecans  were,  as  a  rule,  inferior  to  the  Fer- 
nandinos  and  less  successful  in  their  administration. 

*  Argument:     Hart  vs.  Burnett  et  al.  Sup.  Court  of  California,  1859. 

i8s 


1 86      The  Beginnings  of  San  Francisco 

The  Franciscan  monks  generally  treated  the  neo- 
phyte Indians  with  paternal  kindness  and  did  not 
scorn  to  labor  with  them  in  the  field,  the  brickyard, 
the  forge,  and  the  mill.  "When  we  view  the  vast 
constructions  of  the  mission  buildings,  including  the 
churches,  the  refectories,  the  dormitories,  and  the 
granaries,  sometimes  constructed  with  huge  timbers 
brought  many  miles  on  the  shoulders  of  the  Indians, 
it  cannot  be  denied  that  the  missionary  fathers  had 
the  wisdom,  sagacity,  and  patience  to  bring  their 
neophyte  pupils  far  forward  on  the  road  from  bar- 
barism to  civilization  and  that  these  Indians  were 
not  destitute  of  taste  and  capacity."*  A  complete 
chain  of  missions  had  been  established  from  San 
Diego  to  San  Francisco,  and  thence  across  the  straits 
to  San  Rafael  and  Sonoma;  the  scheme  being  to 
plant  the  missions  throughout  the  whole  length  of 
the  coast,  says  Father  Palou,  so  that  the  Indians 
might  fall  within  the  reach,  if  not  of  one,  then  of 
another  of  these  establishments,  and  thus  all  be  drawn 
into  the  apostolic  net. 

The  Indians  received  no  pay  but  were  fed  and 
clothed:  each  Indian  receiving  one  blanket  a  year, 
and  if  he  wore  it  out,  another;  each  received  also  a 
loin  cloth  (taparrabo)  and  a  serge  blouse.  Every 
woman  got  serge  for  a  petticoat.  They  were 
flogged  for  failure  to  do  the  work  assigned  to  them, 
for  non-attendance  at  mass,  and  for  other  causes,  and 
at  times  the  discipline  was  so  severe  that  the  neo- 

*  Dwindle:    Colonial  Hist.  p.  84. 


The  Great  Ranchos  187 

phytes  ran  away  and  soldiers  had  to  be  sent  to  cap- 
ture and  bring  them  back.  But  on  the  whole,  they 
were  fairly  well  treated  and  were  attached  to  the 
priests.  The  Spaniards,  having  a  wholesome  dread 
of  mounted  Indians  born  of  encounters  with  the 
Apaches,  permitted  no  Indians  to  ride  except  those 
employed  as  vaqueros. 

Notwithstanding  the  claims  of  the  missionaries 
to  all  the  land  from  one  mission  to  another,  there 
were,  in  1830,  about  fifty  ranchos  in  possession  of 
private  individuals.  There  were  a  number  of  ranchos 
in  the  south  and  along  the  coast,  while  around  the 
bay  of  San  Francisco  the  Vallejos,  Argiiellos,  Castros, 
Peraltas,  Estudillos,  and  other  historic  families  of 
California  occupied  ranchos  which,  according  to 
Davis,*  supported  some  two  hundred  thousand 
cattle,  fifty  thousand  horses,  and  many  thousand 
sheep.  These  lands  had  been  granted  to  the  soldiers 
of  Portola,  Rivera,  and  Anza,  and  their  descendants, 
and  California  was  being  slowly  populated  by  the 
natural  increase  from  the  families  of  the  garrisons. 
The  families  of  the  soldiers  were  so  large  as  to  excite 
the  wonder  of  visitors.  General  Vallejo  had  sixteen 
children;  Argiiello  had  thirteen;  Carrillo,  twelve; 
Jose  de  la  Guerra,  ten;  Jose  Antonio  Castro,  twenty- 
two,  and  so  on.  Governor  Borica,  on  taking  com- 
mand in  1794,  expressed  to  the  engineer  Cordero  his 
satisfaction  with  the  society  at  the  capital  (Mon- 
terey), the  fine  climate,  the  abundance  of  wine  of 

*  Davis:     Sixty  Years  in  California,  29-32. 


i88      The  Beginnings  of  San  Francisco 

the  Rhine,  of  Madeira,  and  of  Oporto,  of  the  good 
bread,  beef,  fish,  and  other  good  eatables,  and  says: 
"But  what  astonishes  one  is  the  general  fecundity 
both  of  rationals  and  irrationals"  {pero  lo  que 
espanta  es  la  fecundidad  general  en  racionales  e  irra- 
cionales).*  Within  the  presidio  reservation  of  San 
Francisco  is  a  spring  called  El  Polin  to  whose  marvel- 
ous virtues  were  attributed  the  large  families  of  the 
garrisons.f  Its  existence  and  peculiar  qualities 
were  known  to  the  Indians  from  a  remote  period  and 
its  fame  was  spread  throughout  California. 

Among  the  followers  of  Portola  in  the  first  expedi- 
tion were  Mariano  de  la  Luz  Verdugo  and  his  brother 
Jose  Maria  and  both  served  for  many  years  in  the 
companies  of  San  Diego  and  Monterey.  Mariano 
brought  from  Loreto  in  Lower  California  cuttings 
from  the  grape  vine  planted  there  by  the  Jesuit 
fathers.  These  he  planted  at  the  San  Diego  mission 
and  in  a  few  years  the  Franciscan  fathers  were  able 
to  make  from  the  fruit  of  these  vines  the  wine  used 
in  the  mass.  Cuttings  were  sent  to  other  missions 
and  all  the  mission  vineyards  were  planted  from  these 

*  Borica  a  Cordero:  Prov.  StaU  Papers,  M.  S.  XXI,  208-9,  Academy  of 
Pacific  Coast  History. 

t  "It  gave  very  good  water,  and  experience  afterwards  demonstrated  that 
it  was  excellent  and  of  miraculous  qualities.  In  proof  of  my  assertion  I  appeal 
to  the  families  of  Miramontes,  Martinez,  Sanchez,  Soto,  Briones,  and  others; 
all  of  whom  several  times  had  twins;  and  public  opinion,  not  without  reason, 
attributed  these  salutary  effects  to  the  virtues  of  the  water  of  El  Polin,  which 
still  exists."  Vallejo:  Discurso  Historico,  San  Francisco  Centenary,  Oct.  8, 
1876,  MS.  Academy  of  Pacific  Coast  History  (Bancroft  Collection). 


Humble  Origin  of  Founders  189 

vines  of  San  Diego.  This  is  the  origin  in  California 
of  the  famous  Mission  grape.* 

Reference  has  been  made  in  the  previous  chapter 
to  the  convicts  sent  to  California  by  the  home  govern- 
ment. This  was  a  cause  of  hatred  towards  Mexico; 
but  neither  the  convicts  nor  the  few  settlers  she  sent 
appear  to  have  made  much  impression  on  the  coun- 
try; the  descendants  of  the  soldiers  were  the  ruling 
class. 

It  has  sometimes  been  held  and  believed  that  the 
founders  of  the  great  California  families  were  men  of 
rank  and  birth  {sangre  azul).  This  is  not  the  case. 
With  but  few  exceptions  they  were  men  of  humble 
origin  and  station.  The  founders  of  the  Alvarado, 
Argiiello,  Arellanes,  Castro,  Carrillo,  Estudillo, 
Ortega,  Pico,  Peralta,  Vallejo,  and  Yorba  families, 
and  many  others  hardly  less  known,  were  private 
soldiers,  and  only  four  of  the  eleven  named  reached 
the  commission  grade.  But  these  families  were 
among  the  most  prominent  in  California  and  fur- 
nished six  governors  to  the  province. 

The  Californians  were  a  fine  handsome  race.  Tlie 
men  were  tall,  robust,  and  well  made;  the  women 
were  beautiful.     "Particularly  is  the  hijo  del  pais\ 


*  Taylor:  Fragments  and  Scraps,  yiS.  p.  87,  Statement  of  Don  Anastacio 
Carrillo  (Bancroft  Collection). 

Hayes,  in  Emigrant  Notes,  MS.  p.  150,  says:  "The  grape  cultivated  at  the 
missions  of  California  is  the  same  as  that  of  the  Island  of  Madeira — according 
to  Maj.  George  H.  Ringold,  an  accomplished  officer  of  the  U.  S.  Army  who  is 
stationed  here"  (San  Diego).     (Bancroft  Collection.) 

t  Native  of  the  country. 


190       The  Beginnings  of  San  Francisco 

well-formed,  graceful  in  his  movements,  and  athletic. 
Spending  his  life  in  manly  pursuits,  roaming  his 
native  hills,  breathing  the  pure  air  of  the  Pacific, 
the  horse  his  companion,  the  lasso  his  weapon,  he 
carries  about  him  and  into  all  life's  commonplaces 
the  chivalrous  bearing  of  the  cavaliers  of  old  Spain. 
His  courage  no  one  will  question  who  has  seen  him 
face  a  herd  of  wild  cattle,  or  lasso  a  grizzly,  or  mount 
an  unbroken  horse,  or  fix  his  unflinching  gaze  upon 
the  muzzle  of  a  pistol  pointed  at  his  breast.  He  is 
by  nature  kind  and  frank.  The  treatment  he  re- 
ceived at  the  hand  of  hard  featured,  ill-mannered, 
grasping,  and  unprincipled  strangers  taught  him  to 
be  suspicious;  but  his  confidence  once  gained,  he  is 
yours,  wholly  and  forever.  "*  Costanso,  an  officer  of 
the  regular  army,  said  of  the  presidial  soldiers  of 
California,  "It  is  not  too  much  to  say  that  they  are 
the  best  horsemen  in  the  world  and  among  the  best 
soldiers  who  eat  the  bread  of  the  king."t  The 
defeat  of  the  veterans  of  the  "Army  of  the  West," 
under  General  Kearny,  by  the  caballeros  of  Andres 
Pco  on  the  field  of  San  Pascual,  and  that  of  Mervine 
by  Carrillo,  at  San  Pedro,  proves  that  the  descend- 
ants of  the  soldiers  of  Portola  and  Anza  were  not 
lacking  in  either  skill  or  courage.  Davis  says: 
"  The  Vallejos ;  the  Bernals ;  the  Berreyesas,  of  whom 
Don  Jose  Santos  was  particularly  noble  looking  and 
intelligent;  the  Estradas,  half-brothers  of  Alvarado, 


*  Bancroft:     California  Pastoral,  p.  276. 

t  Diario  Historico.     MS.  original  in  Sutro  library. 


A  Handsome  Race  191 

were  all  fine  looking;  also  the  Santa  Cruz  Castros, 
three  or  four  brothers;  the  De  la  Guerras;  Don 
Antonio  Maria  Lugo;  Don  Teodoro  Arrellanes;  Don 
Tomas  Yorba  and  his  brothers;  splendid  looking, 
proud  and  dignified  in  address  and  manners,  the 
cream  of  the  country.  The  Sepulvedas  of  Los 
Angeles  were  also  line  specimens.  The  Argiiellos, 
sons  of  the  prefect  (Santiago)  were  finely  formed 
men;  Doiia  Modesta  Castro,  wife  of  General  Castro, 
was  beautiful  and  queenly  in  her  appearance  and 
bearing.  The  wife  of  David  Spence,  sister  of  Prefect 
Estrada,  was  of  medium  size,  with  fine  figure  and 
beautiful,  transparent  complexion.  The  sisters  of 
General  Vallejo:  Mrs.  Cooper  and  Mrs.  Leese,  were 
strikingly   beautiful."* 

Bartlett,t  writing  from  Monterey  in  1852,  says: 
"Many  officers  of  the  United  States  army  have 
married  in  California  and  from  what  I  have  heard 
here  and  at  other  places,  others  intend  to  follow  their 
example.  The  young  senoritas  certainly  possess 
many  attractions;  and  although  shut  up  in  this 
secluded  part  of  the  world,  without  the  advantages 
of  good  education  or  of  intercourse  with  refined 
society,  they  need  not  fear  a  comparison  with  our 
own  ladies.  In  deportment  they  are  exceedingly 
gentle  and  ladylike  with  all  the  natural  grace  and 
dignity  which  belong  to  the  Castillian  nation.  Their 
complexion  is  generally  as  fair  as  the  Anglo-Saxon, 


*  Davis:     Sixty  Years  in  California,  176,  201. 
t  Bartlett:    Narrative,  p.  73,  74. 


192       The  Beginnings  of  San  Francisco 

particularly  along  the  seacoast,  with  large  black 
eyes  and  hair,  *  *  *  and  they  are  as  slender  and 
delicate  in  form  as  those  of  our  Atlantic  states.  I 
was  struck,  too,  with  the  elegance  and  purity  of  their 
language,  which  presented  a  marked  contrast  with 
the  corrupt  dialect  spoken  in  Mexico."  Even  Sir 
George  Simpson,  who  could  see  little  to  commend 
either  in  California  or  in  the  Californians  was  finally 
overcome  and  surrendered  a  captive  to  grace  and 
beauty:  "Of  the  women,  with  their  witchery  of 
manner,"  he  writes,  "it  is  not  easy,  or  rather  it  is 
not  possible  for  a  stranger  to  speak  with  impar- 
tiality *  *  *  of  those  who,  in  every  look,  tone,  and 
gesture,  have  apparently  no  other  end  in  view  than 
the  pleasure  of  pleasing  us.  With  regard,  however, 
to  their  physical  charms,  as  distinguished  from  the 
adventitious  accomplishments  of  education,  it  is 
difficult,  even  for  a  willing  pen,  to  exaggerate. 
Independently  of  feeling  or  motion,  their  sparkling 
eyes  and  glossy  hair  are  in  themselves  sufficient  to 
negative  the  idea  of  tameness  or  insipidity;  while 
their  sylph-like  forms  evolve  fresh  graces  at  every 
step,  and  their  eloquent  features  eclipse  their  own 
inherent  comeliness  by  the  higher  beauty  of  expres- 
sion. Though  doubtless  fully  conscious  of  their 
attractions,  yet  the  women  of  California,  to  their 
credit  be  it  spoken,  do  not  ^before  their  mirrors 
count  the  time,'  being,  on  the  contrary  by  far  the 
most  industrious  half  of  the  population.  In  Cali- 
fornia, such  a  thing  as  a  white  servant  is  absolutely 


Dona  Angustias  de  la  Guerra  193 

unknown,  inasmuch  as  neither  man  nor  woman  will 
barter  freedom  in  a  country  where  provisions  are 
actually  a  drug  and  clothes  almost  a  superfluity."* 
The  men  he  describes  as  tall  and  handsome,  most 
showily  and  elaborately  dressed  and  mounted. 

The  daughters  of  Jose  Bandini  were  famous  for 
their  beauty.  Bandini  was  the  son  of  a  trader  who 
came  from  Lima  in  18 19  and  settled  in  San  Diego. 
He  had  six  lovely  daughters,  four  of  whom  married 
Americans.  The  heroine  of  Bret  Harte's  beautiful 
poem,  "Concepcion  Argiiello, "  was  the  daughter 
of  Jose  Dario  Argiiello,  comandante  of  San  Francisco. 
How  Dona  Concepcion's  black  eyes  won  the  heart 
of  the  chamberlain  of  the  tsar  has  often  been  told; 
it  is  the  most  famous  romance  of  California.*'' 

The  daughters  of  Jose  de  la  Guerra  were  very 
beautiful.  Teresa  married  W.  E.  P.  Hartnell,  an 
English  merchant  at  Monterey;  Angustias  married 
Jimeno,  secretary  of  state,  and  after  his  death,  Dr. 
J.  L.  Ord,  United  States  army;  and  Ana  Maria 
married  Alfred  Robinson.  Dana,  who  attended 
Robinson's  marriage  in  Santa  Barbara  in  1836,  gives 
a  most  delightful  picture  of  the  handsome  and 
sprightly  Dofia  Angustias,  and  in  his  "Twenty-four 
years  after"  says:  '"Dona  Angustias'  he  (Captain 
Wilson)  said,  'I  had  made  famous  by  my  praises  of 
her  beauty  and  dancing  and  I  should  have  from  her  a 
royal  reception.'  She  had  been  a  widow  and  had 
remarried  since  and  had  a  daughter  as  handsome  as 

*  Simpson:     Narraiiie  p.  2S0-I, 


194       The  Beginnings  of  San  Francisco 

herself.  *  *  *  In  due  time  I  paid  my  respects  to 
Dona  Angustias,  and  notwithstanding  what  Wilson 
had  told  me  I  could  scarcely  believe  that  after  twenty- 
four  years  there  would  still  be  so  much  of  the  enchant- 
ing woman  about  her.  She  thanked  me  for  the  kind, 
and  as  she  called  them,  greatly  exaggerated  compli- 
ments I  have  paid  her;  and  her  daughter  told  me  that 
all  travelers  who  came  to  Santa  Barbara  called  to 
see  her  mother,  and  that  she,  herself,  never  expected 
to  live  long  enough  to  be  a  belle."*  Bayard  Taylor, 
writing  from  Monterey  in  1849,  says  of  this  same 
lady:  "The  most  favorite  resort  of  the  Americans 
is  that  (house)  of  Doha  Angustias  Ximeno,  the  sister 
of  Don  Pablo  de  la  Guerra.f  This  lady  whose  active 
charity  in  aiding  the  sick  and  distressed  has  won 
her  the  enduring  gratitude  of  many  and  the  esteem 
of  all,  has  made  her  house  the  home  of  every  American 
officer  who  visits  Monterey.  With  a  rare  liberality 
she  has  given  up  a  great  part  of  it  to  their  use,  when 
it  is  impossible  for  them  to  procure  quarters,  and  they 
have  always  been  welcome  guests  at  her  table.  She 
is  a  woman  whose  nobility  of  character,  native  vigor, 
and  activity  of  intellect,  and  above  all,  whose  instinc- 
tive refinement  and  winning  grace  of  manner  would 
have  given  her  a  complete  supremacy  in  society,  had 
her  lot  been  cast  in  Europe,  or  in  the  United  States. 
During  the  session  of  the  convention, J  her  house  was 

*  Dana:     Two  Years  Before  the  Mast.     Reprint,  1895.     He  revisited  Cali- 
fornia in  1859. 

t  She  was  then  a  widow,  and  about  thirty-five  years  old. 
tThe  Constitutional  Convention,  1849. 


Jose  Raimundo  Carrillo  195 

the  favorite  resort  of  all  the  leading  members,  both 
American  and  Californian.  She  was  thoroughly- 
versed  in  Spanish  literature,  as  well  as  the  works  of 
Scott  and  Cooper,  through  translations,  and  I  have 
frequently  been  surprised  at  the  justness  and  elegance 
of  her  remarks  on  various  authors.  She  possessed, 
moreover,  all  those  bold  and  daring  qualities  which 
are  so  fascinating  in  a  woman  when  softened  and 
made  graceful  by  true  feminine  delicacy.  She  was 
a  splendid  horsewoman,  and  had  even  considerable 
skill  in  throwing  the  lariat."* 

In  the  little  company  of  soldados  de  cuera  that 
followed  Portola  to  Monterey,  were  two  brothers, 
Guillermo  and  Mariano  Carrillo,  and  their  nephew, 
Jose  Raimundo  Carrillo.  Guillermo  died,  a  sergeant, 
in  1782,  and  Mariano,  an  ensign,  the  same  year. 
Neither  left  any  children.  Jose  Raimundo  was 
twenty-three  years  old  when  he  joined  the  expedition. 
For  twenty-six  years  he  served  as  private  and  non- 
commissioned officer  in  the  presidios  of  San  Francisco, 
Monterey,  Santa  Barbara,  and  San  Diego,  and  in 
1795,  received  his  commission  as  ensign.  He  served 
until  his  death  in  1809,  as  ensign,  lieutenant,  and 
captain,  becoming,  in  turn  comandante  of  Monterey, 
Santa  Barbara,  and  San  Diego.  His  wife  was  a 
daughter  of  the  patriarch  de  Lugo,t  to  whom  he 
was  married  at  San  Carlos  by  Junipero  Serra.     He 


*  Bayard  Taylor:     El  Dorado,  p.  141-2. 

t  Another  daughter  married   Ignacio  Vallejo  and  was  mother  of  General 
Vallejo. 


196       The  Beginnings  of  San  Francisco 

was  the  founder  of  what  may  perhaps,  by  reason  of 
the  number  and  prominence  of  its  members,  be  con- 
sidered the  leading  family  of  California.  His  son 
Carlos  Antonio  became  governor  of  California.  Don 
Carlos  had  a  number  of  handsome  daughters  one  of 
whom  married  William  G.  Dana;  one  married 
Thomas  W.  Robbins;  one  Alpheus  B.  Thompson; 
one  John  Coffin  Jones;  one  Lewis  T.  Burton,  and 
one  Thomas  W.  Doak,  all  Americans.  Don  Rai- 
mundo's  sons  were  men  of  prominence  who  took  an 
active  part  in  the  affairs  of  the  province  and  married 
into  the  best  families.  They  were  distinguished  for 
their  courtly  manners  and  dignified  and  magnificent 
presence.  Each  was  over  six  feet  tall  and  over 
two  hundred  pounds  in  weight.  Joaquin  Carrillo 
had  five  beautiful  daughters  one  of  whom  married 
Henry  D.  Fitch  and  was  the  heroine  of  another 
California  romance;  one  married  General  Vallejo, 
who  named  the  town  of  Benicia  for  her,  one  married 
his  brother,  Salvador,  one  married  Ramuldo  Pacheco, 
and  after  his  death  Captain  John  Wilson  and  was  the 
Ramona  of  R.  H.  Dana's  enthusiasm,  and  one  married 
Victor  Castro.  Of  Ramona,  Sir  George  Simpson 
writes:  "Then  returning  to  Captain  Wilson's  house 
(at  Santa  Barbara)  we  had  the  pleasure  of  being  intro- 
duced to  Mrs.  Wilson  whom  we  already  knew  by 
name  as  a  sister  of  Seiiora  Vallejo  and  whom  we  now 
found  to  be  one  of  the  prettiest  and  most  agreeable 
women  that  we  have  ever  met  with  either  here  or 


A  Prosperous  Ranchero  197 

elsewhere."*  Lieutenant  Martinez,  comandante  of 
San  Francisco,  had  nine  lovely  daughters,  one  of 
whom  married  Captain  W.  A.  Richardson,  for  whom 
Richardson's  bay  was  named,  one  married  William 
S.  Hinckley,  alcalde  of  San  Francisco,  and  one.  Dr. 
Samuel  Tennant. 

These  personal  descriptions  of  contemporary 
writers  will  enable  the  reader  to  realize  more  fully 
than  he  could  otherwise  do  the  character  of  the 
people  of  California. 

Alfred  Robinsonf  gives  a  description  of  a  passing 
visit  at  the  Rancho  Santiago  de  Santa  Ana  in  1830. 
"The  proprietor,  Don  Tomas  Yorba,  a  tall,  lean, 
personage,  dressed  in  all  the  extravagance  of  his  coun- 
try's costume,  received  us  at  the  door  of  his  house. 
He  came  towards  us,  embraced  Gale  and  his 
compadre,X  Don  Manuel,  took  me  cordially  by  the 
hand,  and  invited  us  to  enter.  Arrangements  were 
soon  made  for  dinner,  which,  notwithstanding  the 
haste  with  which  it  was  served,  did  much  credit  to 
the  provider,  as  did  our  appetites  to  its  excellent 
qualities. 

"Don  Tomas  and  friend  Gale  then  commencing 
a  business  conversation,  I  got  up  from  the  table  and 
retreated  to  the  corridor,  where  I  could  study,  unob- 


*  Simpson:     Narrative,  p.  376. 

t  Robinson:     Life  in  California,  p.  42-3. 

t  The  term  compadre  implies  more  than  the  relationship  of  friend  or  benefac- 
tor. It  denotes  a  closer  association,  a  somewhat  sacred  relationship,  as  that  of 
godfather  and  godmother,  not  only  in  its  relationship  to  the  child,  but  to  each 
other. 


198       The  Beginnings  of  San  Francisco 

served,  the  character  and  appearance  of  our  host. 
Upon  his  head  he  wore  a  black  silk  handkerchief, 
the  four  corners  of  which  hung  down  his  neck  behind. 
An  embroidered  shirt,  a  cravat  of  white  jaconet 
tastefully  tied,  a  blue  damask  vest,  short  clothes  of 
crimson  velvet,  a  bright  green  cloth  jacket,  with 
large  silver  buttons,  and  shoes  of  embroidered  deer 
skin,  comprised  his  dress.  I  was  afterwards  informed 
by  Don  Manuel,  that  on  some  occasions  such  as 
some  particular  feast  day  or  festival  his  entire  dis- 
play often  exceeded  in  value  a  thousand  dollars." 

Davis*  describes  the  California  costume:  Short 
breeches  extending  to  the  knee,  ornamented  with 
gold  or  silver  lace  at  the  bottom,  with  botas  (leggins) 
below  made  of  fine  soft  deer  skin,  well  tanned  and 
finished,  richly  colored  and  stamped  with  beautiful 
devices  and  tied  at  the  knee  with  a  silk  cord  wound 
two  or  three  times  around  the  leg  with  gold  or  silver 
tassels  hanging  below  the  knee;  long  vest  with  fila- 
gree buttons  of  gold  or  silver,  although  men  of  ordi- 
nary means  had  them  of  brass;  a  jacket,  generally  of 
dark  blue  cloth,  also  adorned  with  filagree  buttons. 
Over  that  was  the  serape  or  poncho,  made  in  Mexico 
and  costing  from  twenty  to  one  hundred  dollars, 
according  to  the  quality  of  the  cloth  and  the  richness 
of  the  ornamentation.  The  serape  and  poncho 
were  made  in  the  same  way  as  to  size  and  cut,  the 
former  of  coarser  texture  than  the  latter  and  of  a 
variety  of  colors  and  patterns,  while  the  poncho  was 

*  Davis:     Sixty  Years  in  California,  p.  84, 


The  Outfit  of  a  Caballero  199 

of  dark  blue  or  black  cloth  of  finer  quality,  generally 
of  broadcloth.  The  serape  was  always  plain  while 
the  poncho  was  heavily  trimmed  with  gold  or  silver 
fringe  around  the  edges  and  a  little  below  the  collar 
around  the  shoulders.  Hat  from  Mexico  or  Peru, 
generally  stiff,  the  finer  quality,  soft,  of  vicuna — a 
kind  of  beaver  skin — and  cost  forty  dollars.  Saddle, 
silver  mounted;  bridle,  heavily  mounted  with  silver; 
reins  of  select  hair  of  horses'  mane  with  links  of  silver 
at  a  distance  of  every  foot;  spurs  inlaid  with  gold  or 
silver.  The  whole  outfit  sometimes  costing  several 
thousand  dollars.  Simpson,  in  1842,  describes  the 
men  as  wearing  the  pantaloons,  split  on  the  outside 
from  the  hip  to  the  foot,  with  a  row  of  buttons  on 
either  edge  of  the  opening  which  is  laced  together 
nearly  down  to  the  knee;  underneath  a  full  pair  of 
linen  drawers  and  a  boot  of  untanned  deerskin,  and 
a  silk  scarf  around  the  waist.  The  women  wore 
gowns  of  silk,  crape,  calico,  etc.,  short  sleeves  and 
loose  waist  without  corset;  shoes  of  kid  or  satin, 
sashes,  or  belts  of  bright  colors,  and  almost  always  a 
necklace  and  earings.  They  wore  no  bonnets,  the 
hair  hanging  loose  or  in  long  braids.  Married  women 
did  the  hair  up  on  a  high  comb.  Over  the  head  a 
mantilla  was  thrown,  drawn  close  around  the 
face  when  out  of  doors.  In  the  house  they  wore  a 
small  scarf  or  neckerchief  and  on  top  of  the  head  a 
band  with  a  star  or  other  ornament  in  front. 

All  travelers  unite  in  the  statement  that  the  Cali- 
fornians  were  vastly  superior  to  the  Mexicans.     Bay- 


200       The  Beginnings  of  San  Francisco 

ard  Taylor  says  they  had  larger  frames,  stronger 
muscles,  and  a  fresh  ruddy  complexion,  entirely 
different  from  the  sallow  skins  of  the  tierra  caliente, 
or  the  swarthy  features  of  those  Bedouins  of  the 
West,  the  Sonorians.  One  reason  for  this  difference 
was  the  fact  that  the  Califomians  were  of  purer 
blood.  Father  Lasuen,  president  of  the  missions, 
testifies  that  from  the  beginning,  in  1769,  to  the  end 
of  the  century,  but  twenty-nine  Spaniards  had  mar- 
ried native  women.  While  there  was  more  or  less 
mixture  among  the  soldiers  who  came  with  the  first 
expeditions,  the  race  improved  in  California.  The 
sons  of  soldiers  married  soldiers'  daughters.  The 
cool  moist  air  of  the  coast  gave  them  fresh  com- 
plexions; the  habit  of  life  in  the  open  air  with  its 
accompanying  exercise  gave  them  vigorous  frames 
and  elastic  muscles.  As  all  things  grow  and  improve 
in  California;  so  it  is  with  the  people.  The  men 
become  larger  and  stronger,  the  women  more  beauti- 
ful. The  soldiers  who  established  the  presidios  and 
missions  were  not,  as  a  rule,  large  men,  yet  they 
developed  in  California  a  race  that  in  proportions 
and  symmetry  was  fair  to  look  upon.  They  were 
also  a  happy  and  contented  people.  Incivility  was 
unknown.  They  were  always  ready  to  reply  to  a 
question  and  answered  in  the  politest  manner.  The 
poorest  vaquero  would  salute  the  traveler  politely, 
and  a  favor  was  always  granted  with  an  air  of  courtesy 
and  grace  that  was  very  pleasing.  Implicit  obedience 
and  profound  respect  were  shown  parents  by  children. 


A  Ranchero's  Guaranty  201 

even  after  they  were  grown  up.  A  son,  though  him- 
self the  head  of  a  family,  never  presumed  to  sit, 
smoke,  or  remain  covered  in  the  presence  of  his 
father;  nor  did  the  daughter,  whether  married  or 
unmarried,  enter  into  great  familiarity  with  the 
mother.  With  these  exceptions,  the  Californians 
gave  little  regard  to  the  restraints  of  etiquette,  and, 
generally  speaking,  all  classes  mingled  together  on  a 
footing  of  equality.  Honest  and  kindly,  the  Cali- 
fornian's  word  was  as  good  as  his  bond.  Indeed 
bonds  and  notes  of  hand  were  entirely  unknown 
among  them.  The  trading  ships  would  sell  goods 
along  the  coast  and  returning  in  twelve  or  eighteen 
months  would  receive  in  hides  and  tallow  payment 
for  goods  sold  the  previous  year.  Don  Antonio 
Aguirre  was  a  prominent  merchant  of  Los  Angeles, 
and  owner  of  the  brig  Leonidas.  His  supercargo, 
a  new  man,  sold  a  bill  of  goods  and  asked  for  payment 
or  a  note  of  hand.  The  purchaser,  Agustin  Machado, 
was  well  to  do,  but  could  neither  read  nor  write.  He 
looked  at  the  supercargo  in  astonishment,  but  finally 
realizing  he  was  distrusted,  plucked  one  hair  from  his 
beard  and  handing  it  to  the  young  man,  said: 
"Here!  deliver  this  to  Senor  Aguirre  and  tell  him  it 
is  a  hair  from  the  beard  of  Agustin  Machado.  It 
will  cover  your  responsibility.  It  is  a  sufficient 
guaranty."  Aguirre  was  chagrined  on  hearing  that 
the  supercargo  had  demanded  a  document  from 
Machado,  a  man  whose  word  was  as  good  as  the  best 


202       The  Beginnings  of  San  Francisco 

bond  even  for  the  entire  ship's  cargo.*  The  old 
inhabitants  maintain  that  California  was  a  perfect 
paradise  before  the  foreign  immigration  set  in  to 
corrupt  patriarchal  customs;  then  robbery  and  assas- 
sination were  unheard  of,  blasphemy  rare,  and  fraud- 
ulent creditors  unknown.  In  1839  Jose  Antonio 
Galindo  of  San  Francisco,  who  in  his  expediente  of 
1835  for  the  Rancho  Laguna  de  la  Merced  is  described 
by  Justice  de  Haro  as  an  ''honest  man,"  appears 
now  to  have  lapsed  into  the  position  of  a  criminal,! 
and  the  same  Justice  de  Haro  reports  to  the  governor 
that  the  population  having  become  rancheros,  there 
are  few  remaining  in  San  Francisco  to  guard  him,  and 
as  there  is  no  jail  the  justice  asks  that  Galindo  be 
sent  to  San  Jose  for  security.  This  document 
illustrates  the  primitive  simplicity  of  the  Golden  Age 
in  California  in  which  the  cause  came  always  before 
the  effect,  and  no  necessity  was  found  for  jails  until 
criminals  existed  to  be  restrained  of  their  liberty. J 
"Happy  was  San  Francisco,"  says  Dwindle,  "to 
whom  the  'fact'  criminal  had  not  yet  suggested  the 
word  'jail';  less  happy,  but  more  wise  San  Jose, 
whose  experience  had  already  advanced  to  the  word 
and  fact  'prison.'" 

Among  the  light-hearted  and  easy-tempered  Cali- 
fornians  the  virtue  of  hospitality  knew  no  bounds. 
"They  literally  vie  with  each  other  in  devoting  their 


*  Bancroft:     California  Pastoral,  p.  47a. 

t  He  had  killed  his  relative,  Jose  Peralta,  in  a  quarrel. 

t  Dwinelle:     Colonial  History  of  the  City  of  San  Francisco,  p.  65. 


Hospitality  of  the  Californians        203 

time,  their  homes,  and  their  means,  to  the  enter- 
tainment of  strangers."*  On  arriving  at  a  rancho 
the  traveler  was  received  with  joy  and  the  best 
things  were  prepared  for  him.  He  was  pressed  to 
remain  as  long  as  he  would  and  when  he  went  on  his 
way  horses  and  servants  were  furnished  to  take  him 
to  his  next  stopping  place.  It  was  the  same  with  the 
missions.  The  padres  gladly  received  and  entertained 
all  travelers,  setting  before  them  the  best  of  meats, 
fruits,  and  native  wines,  providing  them  with  good 
beds  and  on  their  departure  furnishing  them  with 
fresh  horses  and  guides,  caring  for  the  tired  animals 
of  the  travelers  until  the  owners  came  or  sent  for 
them.     No  pay  was  expected  and  none  was  given. 

Such  was  the  hospitality  and  such  were  the  men 
and  women  of  the  Golden  Age  of  California. 

*  Simpson :    Narrative,  p.  3  87. 


I 


I 


Chapter  X. 
EDUCATION,  TRADE,  LAND  GRANTS 


f 


IN  the  matter  of  education  California  was  back- 
ward. The  military  rosters  of  1782  show  that 
only  about  one-third  of  the  soldiers  could  read 
and  write.  The  officers  taught  their  children  and 
occasionally  a  soldier  of  the  escolta  was  taught  by  a 
priest  to  read  and  write.  The  padres  confined 
their  attentions  to  the  spiritual  welfare  of  the  people 
and  took  little  interest  in  their  education.  Borica 
endeavored  during  his  administration — 1794  to  1800 
— ^to  establish  schools,  and  the  first  was  started  in 
1794  at  the  pueblo  of  San  Jose  by  the  retired  sergeant 
Manuel  de  Vargas.  He  was  succeeded  a  year  later 
by  the  retired  ensign  Ramon  Lasso  de  la  Vega,  and 
Vargas  was  sent  to  San  Diego  to  open  a  school  there. 
In  San  Francisco  the  corporal  Manuel  Boronda 
taught  the  children,  in  Monterey  the  soldier  Jose 
Rodrigues,  and  in  Santa  Barbara  they  were  taught 
by  Jose  Manuel  Toca,  a  ship's  boy  from  one  of  the 
transports.  The  children  were  taught  the  doctrina 
cristiana  and  to  read  and  write.  They  learned  very 
little,  books  were  rare,  and  in  the  simple  life  led  by 
the  people  extensive  book-learning  was  not  considered 
necessary.  In  181 8  Corporal  Miguel  Archuleta  had 
a  school  at  Monterey  which  was  attended  by  Vallejo, 
Alvarado,  Castro,  Estrada,  Pico,  and  other  well 
known  Californians.  Outside  of  the  "three  R's" 
but  little  was  taught  and  the  line  of  reading  was  con- 
fined mostly  to  the  lives  of  the  saints  and  martyrs. 
The  bigger  boys,  however,  managed  to  secure  from 

207 


2o8       The  Beginnings  of  San  Francisco 

the  foreign  ships  many  prohibited  books  which  they 
contrived  to  prevent  falling  into  the  hands  of  the 
watchful  friars.  In  1834  William  E.  P.  Hartnell, 
an  educated  man,  and  Father  Patrick  Short  estab- 
lished on  the  Hartnell  rancho  of  Patrocino,  a  sem- 
inario  which  for  two  or  three  years  was  attended 
by  the  sons  of  a  few  prominent  families,  but  the 
attempt  was  soon  given  up. 

Governor  Sola,  during  his  term,  181 5-1 822,  in- 
terested himself  in  the  cause  of  education  and  con- 
tributed from  his  private  funds  for  the  support  of 
the  schools,  but  the  most  he  could  do  was  to  main- 
tain a  primary  school  at  each  of  the  four  presidios 
and  the  two  pueblos.  Governor  Echeandia  recom- 
mended an  appropriation  for  the  employment  of 
teachers,  but  nothing  was  done.  There  was  no 
money  to  pay  teachers  and  teachers  themselves 
were  scarce;  the  lack  of  education  however,  was 
partly  due  to  apathy  on  the  part  of  the  people  them- 
selves. They  had  but  little  intellectual  ambition, 
though  some  of  the  more  noteworthy  families  con- 
tained men  of  intellect  and  scholarly  attainments. 
There  was  no  necessity  for  the  soldier  to  read  and 
write  unless  he  wished  to  be  a  corporal,  then,  if  the 
desire  was  sufficiently  strong,  he  learned. 

California  in  the  eighteenth  century  had  no  trade. 
The  garrisons  bought  from  the  missions  and  rancheros 
such  supplies  as  they  required,  paying  for  them  by 
drafts  on  the  royal  treasury,  and  each  year  sent  re- 
quisitions to  Mexico  for  articles  California  could  not 


Beginning  of  the  Fur  Trade  209 

supply.  Twice  a  year  the  government  transports 
brought  the  supplies  and  the  people  had  to  be  con- 
tent with  the  goods  so  furnished.  No  foreign  ships 
were  permitted  to  trade  but  the  settlers  could  buy 
from  the  transports  such  articles  as  they  had,  paying 
for  them  by  their  products.  This  cutting  off  of  all 
outlet  for  the  products  of  their  farms  and  labor  could 
only  result  in  stagnation.  With  a  fertile  soil,  a  sea 
filled  with  fish,  and  a  coast  swarming  with  fur-seals 
and  sea-otter,  the  California  settler  could  only  sell 
a  few  skins,  a  few  hides,  a  little  tallow,  and  a  few 
fane  gas  of  grain. 

About  the  beginning  of  the  nineteenth  century 
American  ships  began  to  visit  the  Pacific  coast  of 
North  America  for  skins  of  sea-otter  and  other  fur- 
bearing  animals.  These  vessels  carried  goods  for 
trade  and  landed  their  wares  whenever  opportunity 
offered.  With  the  assistance  of  Aleuts  furnished  by 
the  Russian-American  company,  they  took  great 
numbers  of  fur-seals  and  sea-otter.  The  Farallon 
islands,  off  San  Francisco,  and  the  islands  of  the 
Santa  Barbara  channel  furnished  quantities  of 
these  animals.  The  bay  of  San  Francisco  was  full 
of  sea-otter  and  the  Russians  entered  in  their  canoes 
and  hunted  them  under  the  very  guns  of  the  Spanish 
fort.  The  Russians  maintained  a  station  on  the 
Farallones,  whence  in  1810-11,  the  ship  Albatross 
took  73,402  fur-seals  according  to  the  log  of  the  cap- 
tain's clerk,  W.  A.  Gale.     Robinson  tells  of  landing 


210       The  Beginnings  of  San  Francisco 

on  the  largest  Farallon  with  him  in  1833,  when  Gale 
attempted  to  show  Robinson  how  he  bagged  the 
seals  and  taking  a  club  started  to  descend  the  rocks 
to  head  off  a  couple  of  big  fellows  they  discovered 
asleep;  but  Gale  had  lost  his  youthful  vigor  and 
activity  and,  his  courage  failing  him,  the  seals 
escaped.  Down  to  the  year  1830  the  Russians  took 
a  large  number  of  otter  on  the  California  coast, 
variously  estimated  from  five  to  ten  thousand  peryear, 
the  best  skins  selling  in  China  at  sixty  dollars  each. 
It  seems  strange  that  the  Spanish  and  Mexican 
authorities  should  permit  their  coasts  to  be  stripped 
of  this  great  wealth  by  foreigners  who  returned  no 
revenue.  Later  otter  hunting  was  licensed  on  con- 
dition that  two-thirds  of  the  crews  should  be  Cali- 
fornians  and  that  the  foreigners  paid  duties  on  their 
share  of  skins.  Free  licenses  were  also  granted  to 
Californians.  The  sea-otter  which  in  1812  were  so 
plentiful  that,  according  to  Vallejo  they  were  killed 
by  the  boatmen  with  their  oars  in  passing  through 
the  seaweed,*  were  now  growing  scarce. 

Before  the  end  of  the  second  decade  the  prohi- 
bition of  foreign  trade  had  become  a  dead  letter. 
California,  left  to  herself,  had  to  get  on  as  best  she 
could.  The  needs  of  the  government  were  such  that 
the  governor  was  glad  to  purchase  any  supplies  that 
could  be  paid  for  in  produce  and  for  revenue  he  levied 
import  and  export  duties.  In  1821  Monterey  and 
San  Diego  were  formally  opened  to  foreign  trade,  and 

♦  Vallejo:  Hist.  Cal.  MS.  i,  105-6.     Bancroft  Coll. 


The  Coming  of  the  Hide  Droghers      211 

in  1822  the  Lima  firm  of  John  Begg  &  Co.  entered 
into  a  contract  with  the  missions  to  take  all  the  hides 
offered,  and  at  least  twenty-five  thousand  arrobas* 
of  tallow  per  year.  The  contract  was  for  three  years 
from  Januar>^  i,  1823,  and  the  price  was  one  dollar 
each  for  hides  and  two  dollars  per  arroba  for  tallow. 
The  Lima  firm  was  represented  by  Hugh  McCulloch 
and  William  Edward  Paty  Hartnell  who  formed  the 
firm  of  McCulloch,  Hartnell  &  Co.  Hartnell  re- 
mained as  the  resident  partner  of  the  firm  and 
became  a  citizen  of  California.  He  was  baptized 
into  the  Roman  Catholic  faith;  married  Maria 
Teresa,  daughter  of  Jose  de  la  Guerra  y  Noriega,  and 
thus  became  allied  with  one  of  the  most  prominent 
families  of  California. 

In  1822  came  Henry  Gyzelaar  and  William  A. 
Gale  for  hides  and  tallow,  in  the  American  ship 
Sachem  from  Boston,  the  first  ship  to  engage  in  the 
profitable  trade  so  long  continued  between  California 
and  Boston.  Gyzelaar  was  master  and  Gale  super- 
cargo of  the  Sachem  and  both  were  part  owners. 
Both  had  been  in  the  fur  trade  in  California  before, 
and  Gale  had,  as  we  have  seen,  taken  large  quanti- 
ties of  seal-skins  on  the  Farallon  rocks  at  San  Fran- 
cisco. Some  difficulty  was  encountered  by  Gale  in 
getting  a  cargo  by  reason  of  the  contract  the  missions 
had  entered  into  with  the  Lima  house,  but  by  offering 
one  dollar  and  fifty  cents  per  hide  and  one  dollar 
and   seventy-five   cents    per   arroba   for   tallow,    he 

*  Arroba — twenty-five  pounds. 


212       The  Beginnings  of  San  Francisco 

disposed  of  his  cargo  of  notions  and  secured  a  load  of 
hides,  tallow,  and  other  produce.  These  prices  were 
later  advanced  to  two  dollars  for  hides  and  five  dol- 
lars per  arroba  for  tallow,  while  two  dollars  and  fifty 
cents  per  pound  was  paid  for  beaver  skins,  and 
thirty  to  forty  dollars  apiece  for  sea-otter.  The 
opening  of  the  ports  to  foreign  trade  was  a  great 
stimulus  to  California  development  and  the  seculari- 
zation of  the  missions  opened  the  lands  to  settlement. 
Cattle  raising  became  a  great  industry  and  each  year 
more  ships  came  to  the  coast  for  hides  and  tallow. 
The  trade  was  largely  in  the  hands  of  Americans, 
Boston  houses  predominating.  The  ships  came 
loaded  with  cloths,  silks,  hardware,  utensils,  wines, 
liquors,  and  all  the  miscellaneous  articles  needed  by 
the  Californians,  and  after  entering  the  cargo  at 
Monterey  and  paying  the  duties,  the  ship  would 
trade  up  and  down  the  coast  until  all  the  goods  were 
disposed  of.  A  trade  room  was  fitted  up  on  the  ship 
with  shelves,  counters,  etc.,  like  a  country  store, 
and  the  goods  displayed  to  the  best  advantage.  The 
arrival  of  a  Boston  ship  always  excited  the  greatest 
interest,  lining  the  roads  with  people  coming  to 
inspect  the  goods  and  to  make  purchases,  and  with 
cattle  and  carts  laden  with  hides  and  tallow  for  the 
ship.  Smuggling  was  extensively  carried  on.  Most 
of  the  merchants  engaged  in  it  and,  it  is  said,  some 
of  the  padres  were  wont  to  indulge  in  the  practice 
of  evading  the  customs  dues.  The  method  pursued 
by  the  customs  officials  made  smuggling  easy.     Mon- 


Smuggling  Operations  213 

terey  was  made  sole  port  of  entry.  If  a  vessel  on 
any  pretext  entered  any  other  port,  a  guard  was 
placed  on  board  and  she  was  ordered  to  depart  with 
the  shortest  possible  delay  for  Monterey.  On 
arrival  at  that  port  she  was  visited  by  the  collector 
who  was  received  on  board  with  all  due  ceremony. 
The  event  was  usually  made  one  of  social  enter- 
tainment and  the  merchants  and  prominent  residents 
of  the  town  were  invited  to  accompany  the  customs 
officials.  In  the  cabin  would  be  laid  out  refreshments, 
solid  and  liquid,  in  the  greatest  variety  and  abun- 
dance, and  afterfeasting  and  the  drinking  of  numerous 
healths  and  toasts,  the  collector  would  proceed  to 
inspect  the  cargo  and  fix  the  amount  of  duty  to  be 
paid.  A  favorite  method  of  smuggling  was  for  a 
vessel  to  land  the  more  valuable  portion  of  her 
cargo  on  some  lonely  part  of  the  coast  or  island  and 
re-load  after  passing  the  Monterey  custom  house 
inspection.  So  openly  was  smuggling  conducted 
during  the  latter  part  of  the  Mexican  administration 
that  the  officials  could  hardly  be  ignorant  of  its 
extent.  The  duties  were  about  one  hundred  per 
cent.,  and,  it  was  argued,  if  the  traders  were  obliged 
to  pay  the  whole  tax,  instead  of  about  one-quarter 
of  it  the  goods  would  have  to  be  sold  at  so  high  a 
price  the  people  would  be  unable  to  buy  them,  thus 
the  trade  would  be  destroyed,  the  people  suffer, 
and  the  government  receive  no  benefit.  Davis  tells 
of  the  arrival  at  San  Francisco  of  the  American  bark 
Don   Quixote,   of   which   he   was   supercargo,   from 


214       The  Beginnings  of  San  Francisco 

Honolulu  with  a  full  cargo  valued  at  twenty  thousand 
dollars.  The  sub-prefect  ordered  the  ship  to  Mon- 
terey and  placed  a  guard  on  board.  The  obliging 
guard  was  put  in  a  state  room,  furnished  with  a  bottle 
of  madeira,  one  of  aguardiente,  a  box  of  cigars,  was 
promised  twenty  dollars  in  the  morning  and  locked 
up  for  the  night.  All  night  the  crew  worked  landing 
the  cargo  on  the  beach  in  front  of  Spear's  store, 
whence  it  was  taken  inside.  Davis  says  they 
landed  half  the  cargo,  but  it  would  seem  nearer  the 
whole,  for  the  subsequent  appraisal  at  Monterey  was 
but  one  thousand  one  hundred  and  eight  dollars. 
After  paying  dues  at  Monterey  and  getting  her  per- 
mit, the  Don  Quixote  returned  to  San  Francisco, 
openly  reloaded  her  cargo  and  proceeded  south  on 
her  trading  expedition,  maintaining  a  fiction  that 
Spear  was  shipping  some  of  his  goods  south.* 
Another  practice  was  to  exhibit  a  fictitious  invoice 
and  pay,  say  ten  thousand  dollars  on  a  cargo  worth 
forty  thousand  dollars.  The  trader  considered  that 
there  was  nothing  particularly  wrong  about  this,  as 
the  invoice  did  not  have  to  be  sworn  to.  Davis 
says  that  the  merchants  and  owners  engaged  in 
smuggling  were  just  as  much  respected  as  any  one 
else  in  the  community.  Sometimes  whole  cargoes 
would  be  transferred  at  sea  to  vessels  having  the 
custom's  permit.  It  is  said  that  the  Sandwich  islands 
traders  were  the  particular  offenders  in  these  trans- 
actions.    Occasionally  a  smuggler  would  be  caught 

*  Davis:     Sixty  Years  in  California. 


Trade  on  the  Coast  215 

up  and  ship  and  cargo  condemned  and  sold.  The 
whalers  coming  into  San  Francisco  bay  for  supplies 
and  anchoring  at  Sausalito  were  allowed  to  trade 
goods  in  limited  amounts  in  payment  of  supplies 
and  they  took  advantage  of  their  privilege  to  engage 
in  extensive  smuggling  operations. 

Having  attended  to  the  formalities  of  the  custom- 
house at  Monterey  the  ship  became  a  floating  store 
and  traded  up  and  down  the  coast  until  her  cargo 
was  disposed  of  and  a  return  load  secured.  As 
the  hides  were  collected  they  were  taken  to  La  Playa 
at  San  Diego  where  great  hide  houses  were  erected 
for  their  curing  and  storing  and  where  the  ship 
loaded  for  her  homeward  voyage.  The  Boston 
houses  found  the  trade  very  lucrative.  They  sold 
their  goods  at  a  large  profit  and  bought  their  return 
cargoes  at  a  low  price.  A  voyage  generally  took 
between  two  and  three  years,  and  a  house  engaged 
in  the  trade  contrived  to  have  one  or  two  ships  on 
the  coast  all  the  time.  Richard  Henry  Dana's 
Two  Years  Before  the  Mast  gives  a  most  interesting 
account  of  these  "hide  droghing"  days  and  second 
only  to  this  is  William  H.  Thomes'  On  Land  and  Sea. 
The  customs  duties  that  in  1826  were  thirteen  thou- 
sand dollars,  rose  in  1835,  the  year  of  Dana's  arrival, 
to  fifty  thousand  dollars  and  in  1840  to  seventy 
thousand  dollars.  These  sums  may  be  safely  esti- 
mated at  about  one-half  of  what  they  should  have 
been,  while  the  annual  exports  of  California  were 
valued  at  that  time  at  two  hundred  and  forty-one 


2i6       The  Beginnings  of  San  Francisco 

thousand  dollars,  of  which  San  Francisco  furnished 
eighty-three  thousand  dollars.  The  Boston  ships 
paid  the  greater  part  of  these  duties,  but  so  extensive 
became  the  operations  of  the  smugglers  that  the  trade 
ceased  to  be  profitable  to  houses  that  paid  duties 
and  the  Boston  ships  retired. 

The  first  private  land  grant  in  California  was  made 
November  22,  1775,  to  Manuel  Butron,  a  soldier 
of  the  Monterey  presidio,  by  virtue  of  his  military 
services  and  also  in  recognition  of  the  claims  of 
his  wife,  Margarita,  a  daughter  of  the  mission  of  the 
Carmelo.  The  grant  was  for  a  piece  of  land  one 
hundred  and  forty  varas  square  and  was  made  by 
Don  Fernando  de  Rivera  y  Moncada,  comandante 
of  California,  and  attested  by  Corporal  Hermenegildo 
Sal,  who  acted  as  a  sort  of  secretary  of  state. 

This  grant  was  made  pursuant  to  a  reglamento 
of  Bucareli,  viceroy  of  New  Spain,  dated  August 
17)  1773-  This  reglamento  authorized  the  coman- 
dante of  California  to  distribute  lands  in  private  to 
such  Indians  as  would  devote  themselves  to  agri- 
culture and  the  breeding  of  cattle;  it  also  gave 
the  comandante  authority  to  distribute  lands  to 
settlers  according  to  their  merit  and  means  of  labor. 
The  reglamento  of  Felipe  de  Neve,  governor  of 
California,  approved  by  the  king  October  24,  1781, 
provided  that  the  colonist  (poblador)  should  receive 
one  hundred  and  sixteen  dollars  and  forty-four  cents 
per  year  for  two  years  and  sixty  dollars  per  year  for 
the  next  three  years,  in  lieu  of  rations;  each  was  to 


Land  for  Settlers  217 

receive  a  house  lot  {solar),  and  a  planting  lot  (suerte) 

two   hundred    varas    square,    together   with    cattle, 

sheep,  pigs,  fowls,  and  implements,  and  was  to  be 

exempt  from  all  taxes  for  five  years.     Each  poblador 

was  to  hold  himself  equipped  with  two  horses,   a 

saddle  complete,  musket  and  other  arms,  for  defense 

at  the  call  of  the  governor.     In  the  decree  of  August 

18,    1824,   the  Mexican  nation  "promises  to  those 

foreigners  who  may  come  to  establish  themselves  in 

its  territory,  security  in  their  persons  and  property, 

provided  they  subject  themselves  to  the  laws  of  the 

country."     It  provided  for  distribution  of  lands  to 

Mexican   citizens,   without   distinction   except  only 

such  as  is  due  to  private  merit  and  services  rendered. 

No  one  person  could  obtain  ownership  of  more  than 

one  league  square  of  five  thousand  varas  of  irrigable 

land  {tierra  de  regadio),  four  superficial  ones  of  land 

dependent   on   the   seasons    {de   temporal),    and    six 

superficial   ones   for   the   purpose   of   rearing   cattle 

{de    abrevadero).     Land    within    twenty    leagues    of 

the  boundaries  of  any  foreign  nation,  or  within  ten 

leagues  of  the  coast  could  not  be  colonized  without 

the  previous  approval  of  the  general  government. 

The  general  rules  and  regulations  of  November  21, 

1828,   authorized   the   governors   of  the   territories, 

in  compliance  with  the  law  of  August  18,  1824,  to 

grant  vacant  lands  to  such    contractors    {empresar- 

ios),  families,  or  private  persons,  whether  Mexicans 

or  foreigners,  who  might  ask  for  them  for  the  purpose 

of  cultivating  and  inhabiting  them.     These  were  the 


2i8       The  Beginnings  of  San  Francisco 

laws  under  which  lands  were  granted  down  to  the 
time  of  the  American  occupation  in  1846.  The  law 
made  provision  for  the  method  to  be  followed  in 
the  granting  of  lands  and  no  private  grant  was  valid 
without  the  consent  of  the  territorial  diputacion, 
though  an  appeal  to  the  supreme  government  could 
be  taken  by  the  governor  should  the  diputacion 
reject  a  grant.  The  petitioner  filed  with  his  appli- 
cation a  plan  or  sketch  {diseho)  of  the  desired  tract. 
The  request  was  then  referred  to  the  proper  authori- 
ties for  information  concerning  the  applicant  and 
the  land  desired,  and  if  all  was  favorable,  the  grant 
was  made,  the  papers  {expediente)  transmitted  to 
the  diputacion  where  they  were  copied  into  the 
record,  and  were  then  delivered  to  the  applicant  for 
his  protection  and  constituted  his  title.  But  few 
grants  were  made  prior  to  the  establishment  of  the 
republic,  but  after  the  opening  of  the  ports  to  foreign 
trade  the  applications  for  ranchos  became  more 
numerous  and  with  the  secularization  of  the  mis- 
sions, the  advent  of  the  foreigners,  and  the  general 
expectation  of  American  domination,  the  scramble 
for  land  became  very  great.  The  foreigners  were 
very  well  treated  and  by  becoming  naturalized 
obtained  grants  of  land.  Many  of  the  Americans 
who  came  during  the  last  days  of  Mexican  control 
imagined  that  they  were  entitled  to  land,  and  refused 
to  comply  with  the  requirements  of  law,  expecting 
to  obtain  it  without  doing  so.  Some  even  claimed 
that  land  had  been  promised  them  to  induce  them  to 


I 


Land  Commission  Created  219 

emigrate  to  California.  Perhaps  it  had,  but  not  by 
those  who  owned  it.  With  th«  conquest  and  the 
subsequent  discovery  of  gold,  the  land  question 
became  acute.  Americans  with  guns  in  their  hands 
asserted  their  right  to  "preempt"  such  land  as  they 
chose  to  consider  vacant,  and  in  the  opinion  of  the 
"squatters"  the  Californians  had  no  rights  the 
conquerors  were  bound  to  respect.  The  matter  was 
further  complicated  by  the  appearance  of  a  number 
of  alleged  grants,  whose  timely  production  was,  to 
say  the  least,  suspicious. 

In  1 85 1  Congress  passed  an  act  creating  a  com- 
mission to  examine  all  California  land  claims. 
Within  a  stated  period  all  claims  must  be  presented 
before  the  board  by  the  claimants  and  those  not 
so  presented  were  to  be  no  longer  regarded,  but  the 
lands  in  question  were  then  to  be  considered  part 
of  the  public  domain.  All  claimants  were  to  appear 
before  the  board  as  suitors  against  the  United  States 
which  as  represented  by  its  attorneys  was  to  resist 
their  claims.  Either  party  could  appeal  from  the 
decision  of  the  board  to  the  United  States  district 
court  and  thence  to  the  United  States  supreme  court. 

The  treaty  of  Guadalupe  Hidalgo  had  guaranteed 
to  Californians  the  protection  of  their  property  rights 
and  the  land  bill  of  185 1  was  an  act  of  injustice  and  a 
violation  of  the  spirit  of  the  treaty.  Instead  of 
the  protection  guaranteed,  the  land  owner  was 
obliged  to  defend  his  title  to  land  which  had  perhaps 
been  in  his  family  for  many  years  and  to  which  his 


220       The  Beginnings  of  San  Francisco 

right  was  well  known  and  had  never  been  disputed. 
He  was  placed  in  the  position  of  holding  a  fraudulent 
title  which  he  had  to  defend  at  his  own  expense 
against  a  powerful  opponent.  The  lawyers  took 
immense  fees  in  land  and  cattle,  while  the  United 
States  through  its  able  attorneys  contested  the 
claims.  By  questioning  the  title,  the  law  rendered 
the  land  hard  to  sell  and  the  owner  in  order  to  raise 
money  for  taxes,  support,  and  defense  was  obliged 
to  part  with  a  good  portion  at  a  fraction  of  its  value 
and  thus  vast  tracts  fell  into  the  hands  of  lawyers  and 
speculating  land  sharpers.  The  resulting  concentra- 
tion in  a  few  hands  of  a  great  part  of  the  agricultural 
lands  worked  to  the  detriment  of  the  development 
of  the  state,  while  to  the  individual  Californian 
the  result  was  disastrous.  If  the  land  commission 
decided  in  his  favor  the  case  could  be,  and  usually 
was,  appealed  to  the  district  court  and  thence  to  the 
supreme  court  at  Washington;  the  struggle  for  "pro- 
tection" lasting  anywhere  from  five  to  twenty-five 
years,  and  long  before  a  final  decision  was  reached 
the  once  ranchero  prince  had  perhaps  parted  with  his 
last  acre  and  was  a  vagabond  and  a  wanderer.  § 


Chapter  XI. 

SPANISH  ADMINISTRATION 
I 769-1 846 


UNDER  the  rule  of  Spain  the  administration 
of  California  was  purely  military.  The  terri- 
tory was  divided  into  four  districts,  each 
under  the  protection  of  a  military  post  known  as 
a  presidio.*  A  presidio  was  a  walled  camp  about 
six  hundred  feet  square  whose  walls  of  adobe  were 
some  fourteen  feet  high  and  five  feet  thick  with  small 
bastions  flanking  the  angles.  The  walls  had  but  one 
gate  and  were  surrounded  by  a  ditch  twelve  feet  wide 
and  six  feet  deep.  Its  armament  generally  con- 
sisted of  eight  bronze  cannon — eight,  twelve,  and 
sixteen  pounders.  Although  incapable  of  resist- 
ing an  attack  of  ships  of  war  these  fortifications 
were  sufficient  to  repel  the  incursions  of  Indians. 
Not  far  from  the  presidio  was  the  fort  or  battery, 
called  the  castillo.  Within  the  enclosure  of  the  pre- 
sidio were  the  church,  the  quarters  of  the  officers  and 
soldiers,  the  houses  of  colonists,  store  houses,  work- 
shops, stables,  wells,  and  cisterns.  The  military 
reservation  of  a  fort  or  presidio  (egidos)  as  laid  down 
by  law  was  equal  to  a  square  of  three  thousand 
varas;t  that  is,  fifteen  hundred  varas  measured  to 
"each  wind"  (cardinal  point)  from  the  center  of  its 
plaza.  If  the  lay  of  the  land  was  such  that  the 
measurement  could  not  be  made  in  the  form  of  a 
square,  the  required  quantity  was  to  be  made  up  by 
measurements  in  other  directions.     The  commander 


*  From  the  Roman  praesidium,  a  garrison  or  fortified  camp, 
t  3CX)o  varas  square  equals  1564  acres. 

223 


224       The  Beginnings  of  San  Francisco 

of  the  presidio  had  full  jurisdiction  within  his  district, 
subject  to  the  approval  of  the  governor.  The 
governor,  who  was  an  officer  of  the  army,  held  his 
appointment  from  the  viceroy  of  New  Spain;  there 
was  neither  a  legislative  body  nor  council,  the  gov- 
ernor executing  the  orders  of  the  viceroy  and  being 
responsible  to  him  only.  Each  presidio  furnished  to 
the  missions  within  its  district,  a  guard  (escolta) 
varying  from  five  to  eight  soldiers  under  command 
of  a  corporal  or  sergeant,  and  also  a  guard  of  from 
two  to  five  soldiers  to  each  pueblo,  keeping  in  the 
presidio  as  a  garrison  and  for  escort  duty,  expeditions, 
etc.,  from  twenty  to  thirty  men. 

The  small  military  establishment  of  California 
excited  the  wonder  of  foreign  naval  commanders 
visiting  the  coast.  They  could  not  understand 
Spain's  neglect  of  a  country  of  such  great  natural 
resources.  The  excellence  of  its  climate,  the  fertility 
of  its  soil,  the  spaciousness  of  its  harbors,  rendered 
possible  the  creation  of  a  province  of  great  power 
and  influence  on  the  coast  of  the  Pacific.  Van- 
couver, writing  in  1793,  after  describing  the  beauty 
of  the  country,  its  climate,  soil,  etc.,  says:  "From 
this  brief  sketch  some  idea  may  be  formed  of  the 
present  state  of  the  European  settlements  in  this 
country,  and  the  degree  of  importance  they  are  to 
the  Spanish  monarchy,  which  retains  the  extent 
of  country  under  its  authority  by  a  force  that,  had 
we  not  been  eye-witnesses  of  its  insignificance  in 
many  instances,  we  should  hardly  have  given  credit 


CALIFORNIA  INDIANS,  NAPA  VALLEY 
From  Bartlett's  Narrative. 


^'he  Beginnings  of  San  Fr^anctsco 

Oi  tne  presiuiO  DaU  mil  jurisa. 
subject    to    the    approval    o.     ..,^ 
governor,  who  was  an  officer  of  the  ai 
appointment  from  the  viceroy  of  New  'r 
vas  neither  a  legislative  body  nor  council, 
ernor  executing  the  orders  of  the  viceroy  anu 
responsible  to  him  only.     Each  presidio  furnishi. , 
the  missions  within  its  district,   a  guard   {escottu 
varying  from  five  to  eight  soldiers  under  comman 
of  a  corporal  or  sergeant,  and  also  a  guard  of  from 
two  to  five  soldiers  to  each  pueblo,  keeping  in  the 
presidio  as  a  garrison  and  for  escort  duty,  expeditions, 
etc.,  from  twenty  to  thirty  men. 

The   small   military   establishment  of   California 
excited  the^  wo^^^^^  i^r^gp  ^j^l^u^^mmander.. 
visitmg    the    coast^^^^jjl^q^^j^sl^^'^not    understar. 
Spain's  neglect  of  a  country  of  such  -gf^a 
resources.     The  excellence  of  its  climate,  the  fe 
of  its  soil,  the  spaciousness  of  its  harbors,  rei 
T,/.    ni/-  tl^^'  '  reation  of- a  province  of  great  p^>,. 

on   the   coast  of  the  Pacific.     Vaii 
couver,  wri  I793>  after  describing  the  beaut 

of  the  •  .  its  climate,  soil,  etc.,  says:     "Frc 

this  brn-i     rcich  some  idea  may  be  formed  c'  ■ 
present  state  of  the  European  settlements  '■ 
country,  and  the  degree  of  importance  th  lo 

the   Spanish   monarchy,   which   retain  ^ 
of  country  under  its  authority  by  a 

we  not  been  eye-witnesses  of  its    ,.        ....- ... 

many  instances,  we  should  hardly  have  given  credit 


Small  Military  Force  225 

to  the  possibility  of  so  small  a  body  of  men  keeping 
in  awe  and  under  subjection  the  natives  of  this 
country,  without  resorting  to  harsh  or  unjustifiable 
measures.  The  number  of  their  forces  between  port 
St.  Francisco  and  San  Diego,  including  both  estab- 
lishments, and  occupying  an  extent  of  one  line  of 
upwards  of  four  hundred  and  twenty  nautical 
miles,  does  not  amount  to  three  hundred,  officers 
included.  *  *  * 

"Should  the  ambition  of  any  civilized  nation 
att  mpt  to  seize  on  these  unsupported  posts  (the  pre- 
sidios of  San  Francisco,  Monterey,  Santa  Barbara, 
and  San  Diego)  they  could  not  make  the  least 
resistance  and  must  inevitably  fall  to  a  force  barely 
sufficient  for  garrisoning  and  securing  the  country."* 

The  force  at  the  time  of  Vancouver's  visit  was 
two  hundred  and  twenty-five  men  all  told.  It  was 
increased  in  1795  to  two  hundred  and  eighty,  and  in 
1796  a  company  of  seventy-five  Catalan  volunteers 
(infantry),  and  eighteen  artillerymen  were  added, 
raising  the  force  to  three  hundred  and  eighty-five 
men,  the  largest  number  it  attained. 

Until  1804  the  two  Californias  were  united  under 
one  governor,  but  in  1805  a  separate  governor  was 
appointed  for  Lower  California.  The  first  governor 
of  the  Californias,  Caspar  de  Portola,  was  a  captain 
of  dragoons.  Kis  successors  held  the  rank  of 
lieutenant-colonel.  The  presidios  were  each  com- 
manded by  a  lieutenant,  but  in  1805  these    officers 

*  Vancouver:     Voyage  oj  Discovery  ii,  499-501. 


226       The  Beginnings  of  San  Francisco 

were  raised  to  the  rank  of  captain  and  henceforth 
the  comandante  held  that  rank.  The  capital  of 
the  Californias  until  1777  was  Loreto,  in  Lower 
California,  Alta  California  being  ruled  by  the  coman- 
dante. In  November  1777,  the  governor,  Felipe 
de  Neve,  by  order  of  the  king,  removed  his  office  to 
Monterey,  which  henceforth  with  exception  of  a 
brief  interval  was  the  capital. 

In  the  Mexican  war  for  independence  California 
took  no  part,  and  the  sympathy  of  the  people,  so 
far  as  it  was  manifested,  was  with  Spain.  During 
the  long  struggle  California  suffered  from  neglect. 
For  ten  years  the  troops  received  no  pay  and  but  for 
the  assistance  rendered  them  by  the  missions,  must 
have  starved.  The  transports,  which  had  twice 
a  year  brought  supplies  to  the  presidios,  failed  to 
appear  and  the  result  was  great  distress  to  the  gar- 
risons. The  supplies  collected  in  1810  for  the  Cali- 
fornia presidios  were  captured  by  the  insurgent  forces, 
and  those  collected  in  181 1  were  held  in  Mexico  for 
fear  they  would  fall  into  the  hands  of  the  rebels  while 
being  conveyed  to  the  coast.  In  1812  the  Russian- 
American  company  established  a  post  at  Bodega, 
a  few  miles  north  of  San  Francisco,  built  a  fort,  which 
they  called  Ross,  and  issued  a  proclamation  express- 
ing a  wish  to  establish  commercial  relations  with 
their  friends  and  neighbors,  the  noble  and  brave 
Spaniards  of  the  Californias,  and  offering  to  supply 
them  with  the  various  lines  of  goods  which  they 
needed.     Trade   was    forbidden    the    province,    but 


A  Piratical  Adventurer  227 

the  necessities  of  the  governor  (Arrillaga)  compelled 
him  to  supply  from  the  Russian  company  some  of 
the  most  imperative  needs  of  the  presidios.  Another 
source  of  supply  was  the  foreign  ships  visiting  the 
coast  for  the  skins  of  fur  animals.  This  trade  was, 
of  course,  strictly  forbidden,  but  the  smugglers 
managed  to  land  goods  from  time  to  time  to  the 
great  profit  of  those  concerned  and  the  relief  of  the 
needy  inhabitants.  For  beef  and  produce  the  gover- 
nor made  his  requisitions  on  the  missions,  giving  in 
payment  his  drafts  on  the  real  hacienda*  and  in  1820 
the  missions  held  unpaid  treasury  drafts  for  hundreds 
of  thousands  of  dollars.  For  ten  years  the  padres 
supported  the  province  and  during  that  entire  time 
received  no  salaries.  There  was  no  increase  of  popu- 
lation during  this  period  beyond  a  few  soldiers  sent 
from  Mexico  and  the  natural  increase  in  the  families. 
In  November  1818,  two  ships  flying  the  flag  of 
the  Buenos  Aires  insurgents  suddenly  appeared  off 
Monterey  and  the  commander.  Captain  Hippolyte 
Bouchard,  a  piratical  adventurer,  landed  three 
hundred  men  and  captured  and  plundered  the  presi- 
dio. The  pirate  then  sailed  south,  plundered  and 
burned  the  buildings  of  the  Refugio  rancho  near 
Santa  Barbara,  and  then  departed  without  doing 
further  damage  in  California.  The  news  reached 
Mexico  in  December  and  a  company  of  one  hundred 
infantry  was  sent  from  San  Bias  and  a  cavalry  com- 
pany of  one  hundred  men  from  Mazatlan,  to  rein- 

*  Royal  treasury. 


228       The  Beginnings  of  San  Francisco 

force  the  presidios.  The  San  Bias  infantry  was 
composed  of  cholos — convicts  and  vagabonds  of  the 
lowest  description — and  they  gave  the  Californians 
an  infinite  amount  of  trouble  before  they  succeeded 
in  getting  rid  of  them. 

After  the  independence  of  Mexico  California 
became  a  territory  of  that  republic  and  entitled  to 
one  diputado  in  its  congress.  The  first  territorial 
diputacion  was  organized  at  Monterey,  November  9, 
1822.  It  was  composed  of  seven  members,  two 
substitutes,  and  a  secretary.  Each  of  the  four 
presidial  districts:  Monterey,  San  Francisco,  Santa 
Barbara,  and  San  Diego,  was  represented  by  a  mem- 
ber, one  from  the  pueblo  of  Los  Angeles,  one  at  large, 
and  the  governor,  ex-officio  president.  This  was  the 
first  legislature  of  California.  It  was,  however, 
more  of  the  nature  of  a  council  than  a  legislative 
body.  Its  resolutions  had  to  be  sent  for  approval 
to  the  supreme  government  at  Mexico.  Figueroa 
said,  in  referring  to  its  powers,  "The  Diputacion 
never  had  the  vain  pretension  to  attribute  to  any  of 
its  determinations  the  force  of  laws."*  In  1827 
the  diputacion  adopted  a  resolution  changing  the 
name  of  California  to  Moctezuma,  but  the  govern- 
ment at  Mexico,  fortunately,  did  not  give  its  ap- 
proval. 

In  1825  a  special  board,  the  Junta  Fomento  de 
Californias,  was  assembled  in  the  City  of  Mexico 
to  formulate  plans  for  the  government  and  coloniza- 

*  Figueroa:    Manifiesto,  p.  26. 


PORT  OF  MONTEREY  IX  1846 
Reproduced  from  De  Mofras'  Atlas. 


M 


;:ginnings  of 

■b.       1  ijc    oaii     .1  >  as 

jjT — convicts  and  \.  ihe 

description — and  they  gave  the  rnians 

infinite  amount  of  trouble  before  they  I'd 

in  getting  rid  of  them. 

After  the  independence  of  Mexico  Cab 
became  a  territory  of  that  republic  and  entit; 
one  diputado  in  its  congress.  The  first  territorial 
diputacion  was  organized  at  Monterey,  November  9, 
1822.  It  was  composed  of  seven  members,  two 
substitutes,  and  a  secretary.  Each  of  the  four 
presidial  districts:  Monterey,  Saii  Francisco,  Santa 
Barbara,  and  San  Diego,  was  represented  by  a  mem- 
ber, one  from  the  pueblo  of  Los  Angeles,  one  at  large, 
and  the  governorg^^^^f^g^^j^^jftotr^^yhis  was  the 
first  legislature  .^^  'C^&Qii^oit  illuboY^^.  however, 
more  of  the  nature  of  a  council  than  a  legislative 
Its  resolutions  had  to  be  sent  for  al 

^le  government  at  Mexico,     j  igucioa 

mg  to  its  nowers,  "The   Diputacion 
vain  pi  I  to  attribute  to  any  of 

e  force  of  laws."*     In   1827 
the  diputacioii   uUopted  a   resolution  changing  the 
name  of  California  to  Moctezuma,  but  the  go^ " 
ment  at  Mexico,  fortunately,  did  not  give  i' 
proval. 

In  1825  a  special  board,  the  Junta  le 

Californias,  was  assembled  in  the  Cit  :o 

to  formulate  plans  for  the  government 

*  Figucroa:    Manifiesto,  p.  26. 


•    .    „w-^'^-' 

S;§ 

•/. 

'"1^ 

^■"^ 

/«../- .v»^. 

':^ 

fesi'>^ 

t  ..  .'•    It'^'*'^^" 


#• 
{>('. 


■  '*  '-^i.:'- v',„„,  u--- 


;3s-. 


1)1    pour  r.T  1)K  1. A  U All, 

1)K  MO.MK-UKY 

111..-,  Mlll..(  olr  S.pt''  .\,-l,l(;.lltoi-.l 


1*.  ■  „l,.> ''"'""'' ""'"'  '*■••''■'•■'*' 

I  l.,...M,i(i..l.- IW.l  .V- I'nri  t  m*. I V.  «., 

i.,.r;„, —    »^«i■r;;,• 


f^.Mt:v-,r*.-it  ' 


Junta  Fomento  de  Californias         229 

tlon  of  the  territory.  It  was  composed  of  the  most 
distinguished  statesmen  and  lawyers  of  Mexico, 
and  among  them  was  Don  Pablo  Vicente  de  Sola, 
who  had  for  seven  years  been  governor  of  California. 
This  board  while  recognizing  the  benefits  resulting 
from  the  Spanish  system  of  discoveries  and  conquests 
felt  that  the  time  had  come  when  the  natives  should 
be  aroused  to  a  desire  for  civil  and  social  life.  They 
recommended  a  change  in  the  monastic  system  of 
administration,  that  the  government  assume  the 
administration  of  the  mission  temporalities,  and 
that  the  lands  be  distributed  to  the  Indians.  The 
report  of  the  junta  was  published  in  1827  and  formed 
the  basis  for  the  reglamento  of  November  21, 1828.* 
In  regard  to  the  distribution  of  lands  however,  the 
reglamento  provided  that  those  occupied  by  the  mis- 
sions could  not  be  colonized  until  it  was  determined 
whether  they  were  to  be  considered  as  the  property  of 
the  establishments  of  the  neophytes,  catechumens, 
and  Mexican  colonists.  The  Indians  must  first  be 
provided  for  and  this  Governor  Figueroa  undertook 
to  do  in  his  reglamento  of  August  9,  1834,  before 
alluded  to,  in  which  he  decreed  that  to  every  individ- 
ual head  of  a  family  and  to  all  those  above  twenty-one 
years  of  age,  although  they  have  no  family,  should 
be  given  a  lot  of  land  not  less  than  one  hundred  nor 
more  than  four  hundred  varas  square,  a  portion 
of    the    self-moving    property   (cattle)   and    of    the 

*  For  the  colonization  of  the  territories  of  the  Republic. 


230       The  Beginnings  of  San  Francisco 

chattels,  tools,  instruments,  and  seeds  on  hand. 
Also  in  cummunity,  a  sufficient  quantity  of  land  for 
pasturing  and  watering  their  cattle. 

Mexican  independence  was  followed  by  the  regency; 
that  by  the  empire  of  Iturbide,  and  the  empire,  in 
turn,  by  the  republic.  The  federal  constitution  was 
received  in  California  in  January  1825,  and  ratified 
by  the  diputacion  the  following  March.  The  padres 
did  not  take  kindly  to  the  republic.  Most  of  them 
were  born  in  Spain  and  their  sympathies  were  with 
the  monarchy.  They  refused  to  take  the  oath  of 
allegiance  and  until  compelled  refused  to  furnish 
supplies  to  the  presidios.  The  ratification  of  the 
constitution  by  the  diputacion  was  unaccompanied 
by  the  religious  ceremony  customary  on  such  occasion, 
as  Padre  Sarria,  comisario  prefecto*  did  not  approve 
of  the  republic.  Though  the  attitude  of  the  priests 
caused  some  angry  protests,  and  the  Indians,  under 
their  influence,  gave  signs  of  disaffection,  they  con- 
tinued to  rule  over  the  temporal  as  well  as  the 
spiritual  aflfairs  of  their  respective  missions. 

While  the  general  condition  of  the  mission  pueblos 
was  one  of  peace  and  content,  severe  treatment  for 
petty  offences  caused,  in  several  instances,  serious 
revolt.  In  1824  the  Indians  of  Santa  Ines,  La 
Purisima,  and  Santa  Barbara  rose  simultaneously. 


*  The  comisario  prefecto  was  the  superior  of  the  father  president  and  had 
charge  of  the  mission  temporalities.  Sarria  refused  to  take  the  oath,  pleading 
anterior  obligations.  Sarria  a  Arguello,  Archivo  de  Arzobisfado  iv,  135-6. 
Bancroft  Collection. 


(,<) 


PORT  OF  SAN  DIEGO  IN  1840 
Reproduced  from  De  Mofras'  Atlas. 
Note  the  Punta  de  los  Muertos  where  the  dead  of  the  First 
Expedition  were  buried;  also  the  hide  houses  mentioned  by 
Dana. 


GINNINGS   OF   iSA.N 

lels,   tools,   instruments, 

imunity,  a  sufficient  quantity 
g  and  watering  their  cattle. 
.......can  independence  was  followed  by  tTr 

that  by  the  empire  of  Iturbide,  and  tl 
turn,  by  the  republic.     The  federal  constit ; 
received  in  California  in  January  1825,  and  i^tihed 
by  the  diputacion  the  following  March.     The  p    '  ■  " 
did  not  take  kindly  to  the  republic.     Most  of 
were  born  in  Spain  and  their  sympathies  were  with 
the  monarchy.     They  refused  to  take  the  oath  of 
allegiance  and  until   compelled   refused  to  furnish 
supplies  to  the  presidios.     The  ratification  of  the 
constitution  by  Sisf  ^di^PffltlRfij^fia  ^(^f ^^accompanied 
by  the  religious  t«e!?^ii8.Mi<?¥i?^f9f#.M«fc«>-«q^|[ch  occasion, 

as  Padr'§?.lft?a^f &^^{^if4*  'mmfA^m^^^^move 

\a  DanoiJnam  zozuod  shin  anj  osle  jbanud  9i3w  noiJjbsqia, 

'  *^  "^he  republic.     Tnough  the  attitude  of  tht^^ixn 
d  some  angry  protests,  and  the  Indians, 

ice,  eave  signs  of  disaffection,  they  con- 
tmt  aporal   as   well   a 

meir  respective  missions. 
V, ...-.  '  .   v.^.l't^pvn  nf  the  mission  pueblot. 

was  one  of  evere  treatment  fc 

petty  offences  caused,  in  several  instances,  s< 
revolt.     In    1824   the   Indians   of   Santa    T 
Purisima,  and  Santa  Barbara  rose  simult 


*The  comisario  prefecto  was  the  superior  of  the  father  id 

i         '^sion  temporalities.     Sarria  refused  tt.  ng 

■  las.     Sarria  a  Arguello,  Archivo  dc  -,  6. 
Bancroft  Collection. 


Mariano  Guadalupe  Vallejo  231 

and  it  was  with  some  difficulty  and  at  a  cost  of  several 
lives  that  peace  was  restored;  and  while  several  of 
the  ring  leaders  were  severely  dealt  with  for  their 
activity  in  inciting  the  revolt  the  padres  used  their 
influence  to  soften  the  punishment  inflicted  upon 
their  wards,  and  the  Indians  who  had  fled  to  the 
wild  tribes  of  the  Tulares  gradually  returned  to 
their  mission  homes.  In  1835,  Ensign  Vallejo  was 
ordered  by  Governor  Figueroa  to  establish  a  garri- 
son town  and  colony  on  the  northern  frontier  to 
hold  the  heathen  tribes  in  subjection  and  serve 
as  a  check  to  the  advance  of  Russian  settlement. 
Vallejo  with  a  small  force  of  soldiers  established  the 
post  at  the  ex-mission  of  San  Francisco  Solano, 
then  in  process  of  secularization,  and  laid  out  a 
pueblo  to  which  he  gave  the  name  of  Sonoma  (Valley 
of  the  Moon),  the  Indian  name  for  the  valley.  To 
this  post  he  transferred  the  San  Francisco  company, 
leaving  at  Fort  San  Joaquin  a  few  artillerymen,  to 
care  for  the  guns.  Vallejo  was  raised  to  the  rank  of 
lieutenant  and  made  commander  of  the  northern 
frontier.  He  was  now  twenty-nine  years  old  and  a 
thoroughly  trained  soldier,  having  entered  the  army 
at  the  age  of  seventeen.  He  had  been  in  command 
of  the  San  Francisco  presidio  for  several  years  and 
had  had  the  experience  of  several  Indian  campaigns. 
With  a  comparatively  strong  company  at  his  com- 
mand he  pursued  a  wise  policy  toward  the  Indians, 
protecting  them  when  at  peace,  but  punishing  severely 
any   manifestation   of    hostility.     He   was   a    strict 


232       The  Beginnings  of  San  Francisco 

disciplinarian  and  possessing  an  imperious  character, 
he  permitted  no  interference  with  his  mihtary  com- 
mand and  preserved  the  peace  of  the  frontier.  He 
formed  an  alHance  with  Solano,  chief  of  the  Suisunes, 
and  with  his  assistance  ruled  the  tribes  of  the  north, 
many  of  whom  were  brave  and  warlike. 

The  Californians  were  becoming  tired  of  the  way 
in  which  their  province  was  governed  by  distant 
Mexico  and  believed  that  the  officials  to  rule  Cali- 
fornia should  be  chosen  from  among  the  educated 
and  competent  men  of  the  country  instead  of  men 
sent  from  Mexico.  They  rose  and  expelled  Governor 
Victoria  in  183 1,  and  later,  in  1836,  Governor  Chico. 
Chico  in  leaving  California  turned  over  the  command, 
civil  and  military  to  Lieutenant-colonel  Nicolas 
Gutierrez,  who  became  governor  ad  interim.  The 
diputacion  resented  this  believing  the  control  should 
have  been  left  with  them.  In  1836  the  Californians 
of  the  north  rose  in  revolt  and  headed  by  Juan 
Bautista  Alvarado,  a  young  Californian  of  marked 
ability,  drove  Gutierrez  from  the  country.  In  this 
rebellion  Alvarado  was  assisted  by  a  Tennessean 
named  Isaac  Graham,  a  mountaineer  hunter  and 
trapper,  a  crack  shot,  and  a  man  ready  for  any 
desperate  adventure.  Graham  had  come  into  Cali- 
fornia from  New  Mexico  three  years  before  and  had 
set  up  a  distillery  in  the  Salinas  valley  at  a  place 
called  Natividad,  making  his  house  a  resort  for 
runaway  sailors  and  other  foreigners  as  wild  and  reck- 
less as  himself.     To  Graham  came  Alvarado  for  help 


VALLEJO  REVIEWING  HIS  TROOPS  ON  THE 

PLAZA  AT  SONOMA,  1836 
From  a  painting  in  possession  of_^Dr.  Platon  Vallejo. 


GS    OF    . 

id  possessing  an  impe 
jrmitted  no  interference  with  his  n 
II  aiid  and  preserved  the  peace  of  the  fr 
formed  an  alliance  with  Solano,  chief  of  th . 
and  with  his  assistance  ruled  the  tribes  of  th 
many  of  whom  were  brave  and  warlike. 

The  Californians  were  becoming  tired  of  th« 
in  which  their  province  was  governed  by  dis^.. 
Mexico  and  believed  that  the  officials  to  rule  Cali- 
fornia should  be  chosen  from  among  the  educated 
and  competent  men  of  the  country  instead  of  men 
sent  from  Mexico.  They  rose  and  expelled  Governor 
Victoria  in  183 1,  and  later,  in  1836,  Governor  Chico. 
Chico  in  leaving  California  turned  over  the  command, 
civil    and  ?Mrif»fioe^Ti^g^^Mft<3^«I@i:^J/^ficolas 

^    ^.  u      u   ^C?!  .AM0H08  TA  ASM*!    ^     •  t., 

vjutierrez,  who,  became  "governor  aa^  interim,      ihe 

1 .  .       .oiajJAY  KOTArl..i(Tiojjoie8988oq  ni  snitnifiq  £  mpiT,         -  , 


.oiajJAY  KOTArl..i(Tiojjoie8988oq  ni  snitnifiq  £  mpi'i         -  , 

•"'acion  resented  this  believrng  the  control  sn^^'' ^ 

been  left  with  them.     In  1836  the  Califon 

o  ose   in   revolt  and   headed  by  Juan 

Bauiista  Aivarado,  a  young  Californian  of  marked 

ability.  '.^  ^     '  >■-.----.  i\^q  country.     In  this 

rebellion   .  ^-    -ted   by   a  Tennessean 

named  Isaac  Graham,  a  mountaineer  hunter  an'i 
trapper,  a  crack  shot,  and  a  man  ready  for 
desperate  adventure.     Graham  had  come  into  • 
fornia  from  New  Mexico  three  years  before  ^  ' 
set  up  a  distillery  in  the  Salinas  valley  ai 
ailed   Natividad,   making   his   house   ? 
runaway  sailors  and  other  foreigners  a? 
less  as  himself.    To  Graham  came  A! 


Alvarado's  Revolution  233 

which  was  readily  granted,  and  Graham  raised  a 
company  of  some  fifty  foreign  riflemen  and,  joining 
forces  with  the  Californians  under  Jose  Castro, 
marched,  one  hundred  and  fifty  strong,  against  Mon- 
terey. Gutierrez  surrendered  and  was  sent  with  his 
officers  to  Cape  San  Lucas  on  the  English  brig 
Clementine,  November  11,  1836.  The  diputacion 
declared  California  independent  of  Mexico,  elected 
Alvarado  governor  and  called  Vallejo  to  the  coman- 
dancia-general.  In  the  south,  Los  Angeles  and  San 
Diego  refused  to  recognize  Alvarado  as  governor 
and  would  not  agree  to  the  separation  from  Mexico. 
Alvarado  went  south  with  a  force  to  meet  the  opposi- 
tion arrayed  against  him,  but  before  any  collision 
took  place  he  realized  that  to  succeed  he  must  give 
up  the  idea  of  an  independent  state  and  submit  him- 
self to  the  constitutional  authority.  This  he  did, 
sending  a  special  commissioner  to  Mexico.  Mean- 
while, under  the  influence  of  Jose  Antonio  Carrillo, 
diputado  for  California,  the  supreme  government 
had  appointed  Carlos  Antonio  Carrillo,  brother  of 
the  diputado,  governor.  Alvarado  refused  to  sur- 
render the  office  and  after  several  skirmishes  made 
prisoners  of  Carrillo  and  the  southern  leaders,  but 
soon  released  them,  and  the  supreme  government 
reconciled  the  belligerents  by  recognizing  Alvarado  as 
governor  and  compensating  the  Carrillos  by  the  gift 
of  the  island  of  Santa  Rosa. 

The  laws  of  December  1836  made  the  Californias 
a    department    of    the    republic.     The    diputacion 


234       The  Beginnings  of  San  Francisco 

became  the  junta  departmental,  Alta  California  was 
divided  into  two  districts,  and  each  district  into  two 
partidos.  A  district  was  governed  by  a  prefect  whose 
authority  was  second  to  the  governor  and  he  was 
appointed  by  the  governor  subject  to  the  approval 
of  the  supreme  government,  while  a  partido  was 
governed  by  a  sub-prefect  who  was  appointed  by 
the  prefect,  subject  to  the  approval  of  the  governor. 
The  first  district  extended  from  the  Sonoma  frontier 
to  San  Luis  Obispo,  with  the  head-town  (cabecera) 
at  San  Juan  Bautista,  and  the  second  district  from 
El  Buchon  to  Santo  Domingo  on  the  peninsula 
frontier,  with  the  cabecera  at  Los  Angeles.  The 
line  of  division  of  the  first  district  was  Las  Llagas 
creek,  and  San  Francisco  was  the  cabecera  of  the 
second  partido.  The  line  dividing  the  second  dis- 
trict was  between  San  Fernando  and  Cahuenga. 
Vallejo  was  made  comandante-militar  of  California 
and  received  a  commission  as  colonel  of  defensores 
de  la  patria.  He  exerted  himself  to  bring  the  military 
establishment  into  something  like  efficiency.  The 
country  was  defenseless  and  it  was  Vallejo's  opinion 
that  in  the  restoration  of  the  presidial  companies  lay 
its  hope  of  salvation.  With  the  exception  of  the 
San  Francisco  company  maintained  at  Sonoma  by 
Vallejo  from  his  personal  resources,  there  was  hardly 
pretense  of  a  military  force  in  California.  The 
roster  of  the  presidial  company  of  Monterey  showed 
in  1 841  twenty-two  men,  all  told,  and  that  of  Santa 
Barbara,  twenty-five.     At  San  Diego,  where,  in  1830, 


Vallejo's  Appeal  235 

there  was  an  effective  force  of  one  hundred  and 
twenty  men,  the  company  had  entirely  disappeared, 
the  presidio  was  abandoned  and  in  ruins;  the  fort 
on  Punta  Guijarros  (Ballast  Point),  which  in  1830 
mounted  thirteen  guns,  was  abandoned,  and  in  1840 
sold  for  forty  dollars.  The  guns  seem  to  have 
remained  at  the  fort,  as  it  is  stated  that  Captain 
W.  D.  Phelps  of  the  American  ship  Alert,  loading 
with  hides  at  San  Diego,  spiked  the  guns  of  the  fort 
on  hearing  of  Commodore  Jones'  action  at  Monterey, 
fearful  that  his  ship  and  cargo  would  be  seized 
by  Governor  Micheltorena.  The  militia  companies 
(defensores  de  la  patria)  existed  mainly  on  paper. 
Vallejo  urged  his  views  upon  the  governor  and  also 
appealed  to  Mexico,  laying  before  the  minister  of 
war  the  need  of  repairs  to  the  fortifications,  explain- 
ing the  danger  of  foreign  encroachments  and  stating 
that  he  could  no  longer  maintain  the  military  force 
on  the  northern  frontier  from  his  own  means.  He 
asked  for  money,  arms,  and  munitions  of  war.  He 
received  some  arms,  ammunition,  uniforms,  etc., 
and  was  given  authority  to  reorganize  the  presidial 
companies.  A  few  recruits  were  obtained  but  they 
were  of  such  a  character  that  he  could  not  accept 
them,  and  for  money  he  was  obliged  to  content 
himself  with  the  small  share  of  the  revenue  duties 
apportioned  to  the  army.  The  soldiers,  not  receiv- 
ing their  pay,  went  to  work  on  the  ranches  to  sup- 
port their  families. ^^ 

During  the  interregnum  following  the  expulsion 


236       The  Beginnings  of  San  Francisco 

of  Governor  Victoria,  the  foreigners  living  at  Mon- 
terey were  enrolled  for  the  defense  of  the  town. 
The  Compania  Extranjera,  as  it  was  called,  was 
organized  in  January  1832  and  forty-six  men  signed 
the  rolls.  Among  them  were  W.  E.  P.  Hartnell, 
Nathan  Spear,  Captain  J.  B.  R.  Cooper,  Thomas 
Doak,  George  Kinlock,  James  Watson,  and  Henry 
Bee.  Hartnell  was  elected  captain  and  J.  B.  Boni- 
facio, lieutenant.  Bancroft  says  the  company  dis- 
banded in  April. 

In  January  1841  Vallejo  laid  before  the  supreme 
government  his  dissatisfaction  with  the  administra- 
tion of  Alvarado  and  his  conviction  that  it  would 
be  wise  to  unite  the  civil  and  military  commands 
under  one  head.  He  reiterated  his  recommenda- 
tion for  the  restoration  of  the  presidial  companies 
and  asked  to  be  relieved  of  his  command  and  per- 
mitted to  visit  the  national  capital.  Later  Governor 
Alvarado  reported  the  arrival  in  California  of  a  party 
of  thirty  armed  Americans  from  Missouri  and  of 
another  party  of  foreigners  from  New  Mexico,*  and 
suggested  the  sending  of  one  hundred  and  fifty  or 
two  hundred  men  to  reinforce  the  presidios. f  The 
opportunity  was  thus  offered  the  home  government 
to  reestablish  its  authority  in  California,  and  Briga- 
dier-general Don  Manuel  Micheltorena  was  ap- 
pointed governor,  comandante-general,and  inspector, 
and  a  battalion  of  five  hundred  men  was  authorized 


*  These  were  the  Bartleson  and  the  Workman-Rowland  companies. 

t  Robinson:     Life  in  Calif oniia,  211.     Bancroft:  His!.  Cal.  iv,  198-284. 


A  Convict  Army  237 

for  service  in  California,  of  whom  two  hundred  were 
to  be  regular  troops  and  three  hundred  were  to  be 
recruited  from  the  prisons  of  Mexico.  Of  the  regu- 
lars the  most  undesirable  men  were  assigned  for  duty 
in  California,  With  this  promising  material  the 
general  started  for  his  new  department,  his  ranks 
thinning  by  desertion  as  he  went.  The  army  was 
known  by  the  pretentious  title  of  the  Batallon  Fijo* 
de  Californias,  and  of  the  five  hundred  enlisted, 
about  three  hundred  and  fifty  reached  California. 
Robinson,  who  was  in  San  Diego  in  August  1842 
when  the  first  detachment  landed,  says:  "The  brig 
Chato  arrived  with  ninety  soldiers  and  their  families. 
I  saw  them  land  and  to  me  they  presented  a  state  of 
wretchedness  and  misery  unequaled.  Not  one  in- 
dividual among  them  possessed  a  jacket  or  pantaloons ; 
but  naked,  and  like  the  savage  Indians,  they  con- 
cealed their  nudity  with  dirty,  miserable  blankets. 
The  females  were  not  much  better  off;  for  the 
scantiness  of  their  mean  apparel  was  too  apparent 
for  modest  observers.  They  appeared  like  convicts 
and,  indeed,  the  greater  portion  of  them  had  been 
charged  with  crimes  either  of  murder  or  theft.  And 
these  were  the  soldiers  sent  to  subdue  this  happy 
country!  These  were  the  valiant  followers  of  a 
heroic  general,  who  had  fought  on  the  battlefield 
where  he  had  gained  laurels  for  himself  and  country. 
These  were  to  be  the  enforcers  of  justice  and  good 
government.     Alas!  poor  California!  when  such  are 

*  Batallon  Fijo — Permanent  battalion. 


238       The  Beginnings  of  San  Francisco 

to  be  thy  ministers,  thou  art  indeed  fallen!  The 
remainder  of  the  'convict  army'  arrived  in  course  of 
time,  and  I  had  an  opportunity  of  seeing  them  all 
afterwards  at  the  Pueblo  (Los  Angeles)  when  on  their 
route  towards  Monterey,  the  seat  of  government. 
They  mustered  about  three  hundred  and  fifty  men, 
and  their  general  had  given  them,  since  their  arrival, 
a  neat  uniform  of  white  linen.  Here  their  stay  was 
protracted  in  order  to  drill  and  prepare  for  service, 
in  case  of  opposition  from  Senor  Alvarado.  "*  Both 
Robinson  and  Bancroft  intimate  that  Micheltorena's 
cholos'\  were  more  proficient  in  foraging  for  supplies 
by  night  than  they  were  in  the  drill  during  the  day. 
After  a  month's  stay  at  Los  Angeles  Micheltorena 
resumed  his  march  to  Monterey,  but  had  proceeded 
no  further  than  San  Fernando  when  he  received  an 
extraordinario  from  Alvarado  with  dispatches  to  the 
effect  that  Commodore  Jones  had  anchored  in  the 
port  of  Monterey  and  had  demanded  the  surrender 
of  the  place  on  the  day  following  (October  20th). 
Micheltorena  received  the  dispatch  on  the  night  of 
the  24th  and  at  once  began  his  preparations  for  a 
retreat  to  Los  Angeles,  ordering  all  available  forces 
and  supplies  concentrated  there,  but  before  he  could 
get  under  way  he  received  a  message  from  Jones 
himself  to  the  effect  that  Monterey  had  been 
restored.  Micheltorena  replied  saying  that  he  was 
marching  to  meet  the  invader  and  expel  him  from  the 


*  Robinson:     Life  in  California,  212-3. 
t  Cholos:    Thieves,  vagabonds,  ruffians. 


The  March  of  the  Cholos  239 

country,  but  as  he  had  seen  fit  to  withdraw  he 
demanded  a  personal  conference  at  Los  Angeles 
that  the  satisfaction  rendered  by  the  American  com- 
mander might  be  as  public  as  the  outrage.  To  this 
reasonable  demand  Jones  assented  and  with  several 
of  his  officers  landed  at  San  Pedro  where  he  was  met 
and  escorted  to  Los  Angeles.  With  many  compli- 
ments and  toasts  the  ethics  of  international  law  were 
satisfied  and  the  Mexican  general  gave  Jones  and  his 
officers  a  ball  at  which  they  all  had  a  jolly  good  time, 
and  departed  well  pleased  with  their  entertainment. 

Micheltorena's  courteous  manners  and  gentle- 
manly conduct  won  him  many  friends,  particularly 
among  the  foreigners,  but  it  was  with  the  greatest 
difficulty  that  he  found  means  to  sustain  his  army. 
Indeed  it  was  said  that  his  cholos  maintained  them- 
selves— by  stealing.  Contributions  were  received 
from  citizens  and  Vallejo  responded  liberally  to  the 
general's  appeal,  as  did  Jose  Yves  Limantour,  a 
French  trader  on  the  coast,  of  whom  we  shall  hear 
more  later.  Micheltorena  remained  in  Los  Angeles 
until  midsummer  and  then  marched  his  batallon  to 
Monterey,  much  to  the  delight  of  the  cholos,  who 
had,  it  is  said,  stolen  everything  eatable  in  the  south. 

In  July  1844,  Micheltorena  ordered  the  enrolment 
of  all  citizens  between  the  ages  of  fifteen  and  sixty, 
including  naturalized  foreigners,  to  be  formed  into 
nine  companies  of  militia  and  drilled  every  Sunday. 
They  were  to  hold  themselves  in  readiness  to  be  called 
into  active  service.     This  was  in  accordance  with 


240       The  Beginnings  of  San  Francisco 

orders  from  Mexico,  in  anticipation  of  a  war  with 
the  United  States.  The  governor  established  his 
headquarters  at  San  Juan  Bautista  where  he  assem- 
bled his  ammunition  stores  and  where  he  determined 
to  make  his  last  stand  against  the  invader.  These 
stores  fell  into  the  hands  of  a  small  revolutionary- 
party  under  Manuel  Castro  in  November  1844,  at 
the  beginning  of  an  uprising  that  drove  Michel- 
torena  from  power.  In  March  1845,  the  defeated 
governor,  accompanied  by  his  officers  and  about 
two  hundred  of  his  cholos,  sailed  for  San  Bias  in  the 
American  brig  Don  Quixote,  Captain  John  Paty, 
and  Pio  Pico,  first  vocal  of  the  junta  departmental, 
reigned  as  governor  in  California. 

Some  of  Micheltorena's  convict  soldiers  who 
through  desertion  or  other  causes  were  left  in  Cali- 
fornia, and  who  began  to  commit  acts  of  rapine, 
robbery,  and  murder  were  hunted  down  like  wild 
beasts  and  destroyed. 

Vallejo  had  failed  in  his  plan  to  rehabilitate  the 
presidial  companies.  His  appeal  to  the  supreme 
government  had  only  resulted  in  the  shipment  to  the 
country  of  a  lot  of  convicts.  The  new  governor, 
though  an  hijo  del  pais,  was  a  dull,  stupid  man,  and 
the  reins  were  held  with  a  feeble  grasp. ^^ 

This  then  was  the  deplorable  condition  of  Califor- 
nia on  the  eve  of  its  conquest  by  the  Americans. 
Neglected  by  Mexico,  its  presidial  soldiers  disbanded 
and  its  forts  in  ruins,  it  lay  defenseless,  a  prey  to  the 
first  comer  who  cared  to  take  and  hold  possession. 


Chapter  XII. 

THE  FOREIGNERS  (LOS  EXTRANJEROS) 

1795— 1846 


IN  that  section  of  the  western  coast  of  North 
America  extending  from  the  blue  waters  of  Puget 
sound  to  the  sunHt  shores  of  San  Diego  bay, 
the  fame  of  the  Boston  man  has  been  known  and 
regarded  from  the  dawn  of  civiKzation;  and  very 
firmly  did  he  establish  himself  in  the  minds,  at  least, 
if  not  in  the  hearts  of  the  native  races  of  the  north- 
west. The  untutored  mind  of  the  savage  is  apt  to 
associate  men — the  individual  and  the  race — with 
some  one  whom  he  admires,  or  with  some  special 
class  whose  character  or  occupation  has  made  an 
impression  on  him.  Thus  the  Iroquois  gave  the 
name  of  Corlaer  to  the  governors  of  New  York, 
because  of  Arent  Van  Corlaer,  the  founder  of  Schenec- 
tady, who  had  won  their  hearts  and  was  as  a  father 
to  them.  The  governor  of  Canada  was  always 
Onontio,  from  Montmagny,  governor  in  1635;  the 
governor  of  Pennsylvania  they  called  Onas — the 
feather  or  quill  (Penn);  and  the  governor. of  Massa- 
chusetts was  Kinshon — the  fish — the  name  being 
also  applied  to  the  people  of  New  England.  So 
to  the  Siwash  of  the  northwest,  the  American  was 
"Boston  man,"  and  thus  he  is  known  to-day. 

At  the  time  when  the  American  colonists  were 
fighting  for  independence  the  Spanish  missionary 
fathers,  under  the  protection  of  a  small  military 
force,  were  making  a  spiritual  conquest  of  California. 
As  the  years  went  by,  the  inhabitants  of  this  distant 
corner  of  the  globe  became  aware  that  a  nation  had 

243 


244       The  Beginnings  of  San  Francisco 

been  born  somewhere  on  the  other  side  of  the  conti- 
nent. They  did  not  understand  the  thing  very  clearly 
at  first,  but  they  knew  very  well  that  Boston  had  had 
something  to  do  with  it. 

About  the  beginning  of  September  1795,  an  Eng- 
lish merchantman,  the  Phoenix,  Captain  Moore, 
from  Bombay,  put  into  Santa  Barbara  for  supplies. 
The  officers  of  the  ship  were  handsomely  entertained 
by  the  comandante  of  the  garrison  and  his  attentions 
were  reciprocated  by  a  dinner  and  dance  given  on 
board  the  ship.  Among  the  ship's  company  was  a 
young  sailor  and  shipmaster  from  Boston  whose 
ship  had  been  lost  in  the  Pacific.  The  beautiful 
country,  the  delicious  climate,  the  kind  hospitality 
of  the  people,  and  the  bewitching  grace  of  the  lovely 
senoritas  proved  strong  attractions  to  the  young 
Bostonaise,  and  he  determined  to  forsake  the  hard- 
ships and  dangers  of  the  sea,  give  up  friends  and 
country,  and  spend  his  life  in  this  delightful  spot. 
He  was  received  with  open  arms  and  his  petition  for 
permission  to  remain  in  California  was  warmly  en- 
dorsed by  the  comandante  of  the  presidio  in  the 
following  letter: 

"I  inform  your  Excellency,  that  on  this  day,  at 
about  four  o'clock  in  the  morning,  the  mail  arrived 
from  San  Diego  bringing  safely  the  enclosed  letter. 

"Also,  I  have  caused  to  be  about  to  depart  the 
English  vessel,  of  which  I  have  informed  your  Excel- 
lency, which  will  finish  taking  water  to-day. 


The  Boston  Nation  245 

"There  has  come,  as  a  passenger  on  this  vessel, 
a  young  man  of  the  Boston  nation,  {Un  moso 
Bostones  de  Nacion),  who  presented  himself  to  me, 
asking  permission  to  remain  in  the  province.  He 
wishes  to  become  a  Christian,  and  serve  our  Catholic 
monarch  (whom  God  preserve).  His  name  I  do  not 
state  now,  not  having  it  before  me,  but  will  do  so 
on  the  first  occasion.  He  is  a  very  handsome  fellow, 
a  skillful  pilot  and  carpenter,  of  good  parentage, 
according  to  the  statements  of  all  from  the  captain 
downward,  and  having  lost  two  vessels  and  his 
capital  he  does  not  wish  to  continue  longer  in  the 
business  of  navigation.  He  will  remain  in  my  house 
until  your  Excellency  may  dispose  of  all  according 
to  your  superior  pleasure. 

"Of  the  refreshment  with  which  this  vessel  has 
been  succored  I  will  inform  your  Excellency  when 
she  has  set  sail,  as  I  know  not  whether  she  will  ask 
for  anything  else. 

"Our  Lord  preserve  your  Excellency  many  years. 
"Santa  Barbara,  September  5,  1795. 

"  Felipe  de  Goycoechea. 
"Senor  Governor  and  Comandante  Inspector, 
"Don  Diego  de  Borica."* 

In  a  subsequent  letter  dated  October  8,  1795, 
Captain  Goycoechea  gives  the  American's  name 
"Josef  Ocayne,"  and  says  he  has  sent  him  on  the 
frigate,  Nuestra  Senora  Aranzazu,  to  San  Bias. 
He  also  says  "This  Englishman  is  a  native  of  Ireland 

*  Provincial  State  Papers  XIV,  221,  222.     Spanish  Archives  of  California. 


246       The  Beginnings  of  San  Francisco 

and  his  parents  now  live  in  Boston."  (Dicho  Yngles 
es  nativo  en  Yrlanda  y  ahora  sus  padres  viven  en 
Boston.)"^  This  is  the  first  foreigner  I  have  record  of 
who  desired  to  settle  in  California. 

In  December  1799  Captain  Goycoechea,  who  had 
been  appointed  governor  of  Lower  California,  better 
informed  concerning  the  Boston  nation,  complains 
to  the  viceroy  that  the  vessels  of  the  Anglo-Americans 
have  not  only,  within  the  past  few  years,  begun  to 
frequent  the  waters  of  the  Spanish  possessions  in 
quest  of  fish,  pearls,  and  furs,  "but,  confident  that 
there  is  no  one  to  restrain  them,  they  come  with 
arrogant  boldness  to  anchor  in  our  very  harbors  and 
to  act  with  the  same  liberty  as  if  they  were  Spaniards. 
Their  arrivals,  which  are  becoming  frequent,  should 
convince  your  Excellency  that  quite  possibly  this 
proud  nation,  constantly  increasing  in  strength, 
may  one  day  venture  to  measure  it  with  Spain,  "t 

It  was  nineteen  years  after  the  advent  of  Joseph 
O'Cain  at  Santa  Barbara  before  the  first  permanent 
foreign  settler  appeared  in  California.  In  January 
1 8 14  the  Isaac  Todd,  an  English  armed  merchant- 
man, bound  for  the  Columbia  river,  anchored  in 
Monterey  bay  and  landed  three  men  sick  with  scurvy. 
One  of  these,  a  mere  boy  of  twenty  named  John 
Gilroy,  was  not  expected  to  live.  He  was  taken 
by  Maria  Teodora  Peralta,  wife  of  Jose  Apolonario 
Bernal,  and  carried  to  her  father's  rancho  at  San 


*  Provincial  State  Papers  XXI,  637,  638.     Spanish  Archives  of  California, 
t  Bancroft:     Hist.  Cal.  ii,  32. 


John  Gilroy  247 

Antonio  (Alameda  county)  where  he  was  nursed 
back  to  life  and  health.  Gilroy  was  a  Scotchman 
and  his  real  name  was  John  Cameron  for  he  had  run 
away  from  home  and  had  changed  his  name  to  avoid 
arrest.  The  boy  made  himself  useful  to  his  kind 
friends  and  in  1819,  on  application  of  Captain  Jose 
de  la  Guerra,  received  permission  to  remain  in 
California.  He  had  been  baptized  into  the  Roman 
Catholic  faith  and  Ignacio  Ortega,  son  of  the  path- 
finder, gave  him  his  daughter,  Maria  Clara,  to 
wife,  and  one  sitio  of  his  rancho  of  San  Isidro.  He 
was  married  in  the  mission  church  of  San  Juan  Bau- 
tista  March  2,  1821.  The  entry  in  the  libro  de 
matrimonios  recites  the  fact  that  he  had  resided  in 
California  eight  years  by  permission  of  the  viceroy 
and  that  he  had  been  baptized  in  the  mission  of  San 
Carlos.  With  the  advent  of  the  Americanos,  Don 
Juan  lost  all  of  his  property,  as  did  most  of  the  ran- 
cheros,  but  he  lived  to  see  his  rancho  become  the  flour- 
ishing town  of  Gilroy. 

In  January  1816  the  American  schooners  Albatross 
and  Lydia  put  in  to  Refugio  rancho,  near  Santa  Bar- 
bara, and  endeavored  to  land  some  goods.  The 
comandante  of  Santa  Barbara  captured  the  Lydia 
and  the  captain  and  boat's  crew  of  the  Albatross. 
A  settlement  was  made  with  the  government  and  the 
smugglers  released.  The  Lydia  sailed  for  Monterey 
and  on  March  11,  1816,  landed  there  Thomas  W. 
Doak,  one  of  the  boat's  crew  of  the  Albatross.  Doak 
remained  in  California  and  was  the  first  American 


248       The  Beginnings  of  San  Francisco 

settler.  He  married  Maria  Lugarda,  daughter  of 
Jose  Mariano  de  Castro.*  He  was  a  native  of  Boston 
and  was  born  in  1787. 

In  1820  there  were  thirteen  foreigners  in  Califor- 
nia, viz:  three  Americans,  two  Scotchmen,  two 
Englishmen,  one  Irishman,  one  Russian,  one  Portu- 
guese, and  three  negroes.  Foreign  vessels  became 
more  frequent  on  the  coast.  California  was  closed 
to  foreign  trade  but  under  pretense  of  entering  for 
needed  supplies  vessels  would  take  the  opportunity 
to  land  a  few  goods  and  incidentally  increase  the 
census  of  California  by  losing  a  few  of  their  sailors. 
In  1 82 1  the  port  of  Monterey  was  opened  to  foreign 
trade  and  the  number  of  ships  increased.  In  1822 
William  A.  Richardson,  an  Englishman,  mate  of 
the  English  whaler  Orion,  left  the  vessel  at  San 
Francisco  and  was  permitted  by  Governor  Sola  to 
remain  in  California  on  condition  of  teaching  his 
arts  of  navigation  and  carpentry  to  the  young  Span- 
iards. He  was  baptized  June  16,  1823,  as  "un 
adulto  de  razon  de  nacion  Yngles  de  religion  pro- 
testante  su  edad  de  27  afios,  natural  de  la  cuidad  de 
Londres,"t  and  on  May  15,  1825,  was  married  to 
Doiia  Maria  Antonia,  daughter  of  Lieutenant  Igna- 
cio  Martinez,  comandante  of  San  Francisco. t  Rich- 
ardson made  the  first  plan  for  the  town  of  Yerba 


*  Libra  de  Matrimonios,  Mision  de  San  Juan  Bautista. 
t  Libro  de  Bautismos,  Mision  de  San  Francisco  de  Asis. 
X  Libro  de  Casmientos,  Mision  de  San  Francisco  de  Asis. 


Advance  of  the  Pioneer  Hunters       249 

Buena,  erected  the  first  structure  there,  became 
owner  of  Sausalito  rancho  in  1836,  and  was  captain  of 
the  port  in  1837. 

Another  Englishman,  Robert  Livermore,  first 
settler  of  Livermore  valley,  deserted  from  the 
English  brig  Colonel  Young.  He  married  Josefa, 
daughter  of  Jose  Higuera. 

The  opening  of  the  port  of  Monterey  brought  an 
increasing  number  of  ships  for  trade,  American, 
English,  Peruvian,  and  Russian ;  the  Americans  largely 
predominating;  while  English  and  American  whalers 
came  into  San  Francisco  for  supplies,  anchoring  at 
Sausalito.  These  ships  contributed  from  time  to 
time  to  the  foreign  population  of  California. 

Meanwhile  from  the  east  and  from  the  north  hardy 
bands  of  pioneer  hunters  and  trappers  were  approach- 
ing the  borders  of  California.  From  the  north  came 
the  trappers  of  the  Hudson's  Bay  company  pushing 
their  way  into  the  upper  valley  of  the  Sacramento 
river,  while  from  the  broad  interior  of  the  continent 
the  American  hunters  were  each  year  working  their 
way  further  and  further  to  the  west,  passing  through 
the  Rocky  mountains  and  into  the  great  basin,  until 
in  1826  they  approached  the  lofty  barrier  of  the  Sierra 
Nevada.  The  first  of  this  army  of  hunters  to  reach 
California  was  Jedediah  S.  Smith,  an  American. 
With  a  party  of  fifteen  Smith  started  from  the  Great 
Salt  Lake  in  August  1826,  traveled  in  a  southwesterly 
direction,  passed  into  California  below  Death  valley, 
crossed  the  Mojave  desert,  and  reached  the  mission 


250       The  Beginnings  of  San  Francisco 

of  San  Gabriel  in  December.  Leaving  his  men  at 
the  mission,  Smith  was  taken  before  the  governor 
(Echeandia)  at  San  Diego  to  give  an  account  of 
himself.  He  stated  that  he  was  a  hunter  and  trapper 
of  fur  animals  and  that  he  had  penetrated  so  far  into 
the  desert  country  lying  to  the  eastward  that  a  return 
by  the  way  he  had  come  was  impossible  as  most  of 
his  horses  had  died  for  want  of  food  and  water.  He 
was  therefore  under  the  necessity  of  pushing  forward 
to  California,  it  being  the  nearest  place  where  he 
could  procure  supplies  to  enable  him  to  return.  He 
exhibited  his  passports  from  the  government  of  the 
United  States  and  begged  permission  to  return  by  a 
different  route  to  the  headwaters  of  the  Columbia 
river.  His  petition  was  endorsed  by  Wm.  G.  Dana, 
captain  of  the  schooner  Waverly,  Wm,  H.  Cunning- 
ham, captain  of  the  brig  Olive  Branch,  and  the 
mate  and  supercargo  of  the  Waverly  and  Courier, 
all  of  whom  certified  to  the  correctness  of  Smith's 
papers  and  their  belief  in  his  story.*  The  trapper 
was  given  a  passport  by  the  governor  and  after  several 
ineffectual  attempts  to  cross  the  Sierra  Nevada  he 
remained  in  camp  near  San  Jose  until  the  melting 
of  the  snow  made  the  passage  possible.  Proceeding 
northward  in  May,  he  crossed  the  sierra  by  the  Pitt 
river  pass  near  the  mountain  of  "  St.  Joseph  "  (Lassen 
Peak)  and  reached  Salt  Lake  in  June,  having  eaten 
six  of  his  seven  horses.  This  is  the  first  recorded 
crossing  of  the  Sierra  Nevada. 

*  Randolph:    Address,  p.  33-34. 


Foreigners  Welcomed  251 

In  December  1827  Sylvester  Pattie,  a  native  of 
Kentucky,  with  his  fifteen  year  old  son,  James  Ohio 
Pattie,  and  a  party  of  six  trappers,  reached  the 
junction  of  the  Gila  and  Colorado.  Proceeding 
down  the  Colorado  on  rafts  they  reached  tide  water 
January  18,  1828.  Burying  their  furs  and  traps 
they  started  across  the  desert  to  the  Spanish  settle- 
ments, and  after  terrible  suffering  reached  the  mis- 
sion of  Santa  Catalina  in  Lower  California  on  March 
1 2th.  They  were  sent  to  Echeandia  at  San  Diego 
under  guard,  reaching  there  May  27th.  The  gover- 
nor refused  to  accept  their  story.  They  were  locked 
up  in  separate  cells  where  the  elder  Pattie  died  a 
month  later.  The  boy  received  kindness  from  the 
sergeant,  and  his  beautiful  sister,  whom  he  calls 
"Miss  Peaks,"  and  was  ultimately  released.* 

The  Californians  now  began  to  welcome  the  foreign- 
ers— in  small  doses — and  to  assimilate  them,  yet  the 
laws  were  strict  in  requiring  them  to  show  passports 
and  submit  to  surveillance.  In  1827-8  more  strin- 
gent orders  relative  to  passports  were  received  from 
Mexico,  and  the  California  authorities  were  required 
to  render  monthly  accounts  of  new  arrivals.  They 
were  also  instructed  to  grant  the  foreigners  no  lands 
and  not  permit  them  to  form  settlements  on  the  coast 
or  on  the  islands.  Both  Americans  and  Russians 
were  to  be  located  in  the  central  parts  of  the  province. 
The  Russians  had  gradually  advanced  their  stations 


*Bancroft:     Hist.  Cal.  iii,  162.      (The  sergeant  of  the  garrison  at   that  time 
was  Jose  Antonio  Bernardino  Pico,  brother  of  Pio  Pico). 


252       The  Beginnings  of  San  Francisco 

until  they  had  established  trading  posts  at  Fort  Ross 
and  Bodega,  a  few  miles  above  San  Francisco.  In 
1828  the  Mexican  government  authorized  the  granting 
of  lands  in  California  to  such  foreigners  as  could 
comply  with  all  the  requirements  of  law.  Among 
these  was  baptism  into  the  Roman  Catholic  faith 
and  naturalization  as  Mexican  citizens. 

The  Californians  treated  the  foreigners  with  un- 
exampled generosity  and  kindness;  they  gave  them 
their  daughters  in  marriage  and  lands  on  which  to 
pasture  their  cattle.  The  masters  and  supercargoes 
of  American  vessels  trading  on  the  coast  were 
especially  favored  by  them.  The  Californian  did 
nothing  by  halves.  When  he  gave  his  confidence 
he  gave  it  fully  and  finally.  The  Americans  who 
came  early  were  for  the  most  part  superior  men; 
they  amalgamated  with  the  Spaniards;  their  interests 
became  identical,  and  they  did  not  as  a  rule,  prove 
ungrateful. 

During  the  latter  part  of  the  third  decade  of  the 
nineteenth  century  rumors  were  spread  throughout 
the  settlements  of  the  western  frontier  of  the  United 
States  of  a  fairy  land  beyond  the  mountains;  a  land 
whose  shores  were  gently  caressed  by  the  sparkling 
waters  of  the  Pacific;  where,  under  genial  skies,  life 
was  easy  and  farms  could  be  had  for  the  asking. 
Returning  trappers  brought  wonderful  tales  of  the 
country  and  these  stories  were  confirmed  and  sup- 
plemented by  letters  received  from  friends  long 
settled  in  California.     Dr.  John  Marsh,  a  native  of 


First  Overland  Company  253 

Massachusetts  and  graduate  of  Harvard  college,  who 
came  to  California  in  1836  and  had  obtained  a  great 
rancho,*  wrote  to  friends  in  Missouri  most  glowing 
accounts  of  the  country  and  urged  immigration 
thither.  In  May  1841  a  company  was  organized 
at  Independence,  Missouri,  for  emigration  to  Cali- 
fornia. Talbot  H.  Green  was  made  president,  John 
Bidwell  secretary,  and  John  Bartleson  captain. 
Among  the  company  were  Charles  M.  Weber, 
Josiah  Belden,  Joseph  B.  Chiles,  Robert  Hickman, 
and  others  well  known  in  California.  They  were 
joined  by  a  party  of  emigrants  bound  for  Oregon. 
The  expedition  began  its  march  May  19,  1841, 
taking  its  way  up  the  north  fork  of  the  Platte,  up 
the  Sweetwater,  through  South  pass,  up  a  branch  of 
the  Green  river  into  Bear  river  valley,  and  down  the 
Bear  to  Soda  springs.  Here  the  party  separated, 
the  Oregon  emigrants  taking  the  trail  along  the  Snake 
river  while  those  for  California  moved  down  the 
Bear.  Twelve  of  the  California  party  joined  the 
Oregonians,  their  hearts  failing  before  the  terrors 
of  a  journey  across  an  unknown  desert.  Bartleson 
understood  that  they  must  find  a  stream  called  the 
Mary's  river  somewhere  in  the  desert  to  the  west, 
which  would  lead  them  to  within  sight  of  the  Sierra 
Nevada.  Failing  to  find  this  stream  they  would  perish 
in  the  desert.  There  were  now  left  in  Bartleson's  camp 
thirty-two  men,  one  woman  and  a  child — the  wife 
and  daughter  of  Benjamin  Kelsey,  one  of  their  num- 

*  Los  Medanos,  four  leagues,  in  Contra  Costa  county. 


254       The  Beginnings  of  San  Francisco 

ber.  On  August  12th  they  camped  at  a  mountain 
spring  and  two  of  the  party  proceeded  westward 
to  find  Mary's  river.  Their  beef  meat  had  now  given 
out  and  they  killed  one  of  the  oxen  for  food.  On 
September  5th  they  moved  slowly  forward  meeting 
the  scouts  on  the  ninth,  and  on  the  fifteenth  decided 
to  abandon  the  wagons  and  such  property  as  could 
not  be  packed  on  animals.  On  the  twenty-third 
they  crossed  the  east  Humboldt  range  and  reached 
the  south  fork  of  the  Humboldt  river,*  or  as  it  was 
then  called,  the  Mary.  Traveling  down  the  valley 
of  the  Humboldt,  the  route  of  the  Central  Pacific 
railroad,  they  reached  the  sink  of  the  Humboldt 
October  7th.  Thence  traveling  in  a  southerly  direc- 
tion they  reached  Walker  river  and  crossed  the  Sierra 
Nevada  by  the  Sonora  pass.f  On  October  30th  they 
were  on  the  head  waters  of  the  Stanislaus  river,  and 
on  November  4th  arrived  at  Dr.  Marsh's  rancho  on 
the  San  Joaquin.  This  was  the  first  overland  expedi- 
tion from  the  Missouri  river  to  California. 

The  newspapers  of  the  United  States  had  an- 
nounced preparations  for  a  large  emigration  to  Cali- 
fornia and  stated  that  it  was  a  step  towards  the 
inevitable  annexation  of  the  country.  Extracts 
from  these  papers  were  forwarded  from  Washington 
to  Mexico  and  the  Mexican  representatives  abroad 

*  Jedediah  Smith  who  was,  perhaps,  the  discoverer  of  the  river,  named  it 
the  Mary,  for  his  Indian  wife.  It  was  also  called  the  Ogden,  from  Peter  Skeen 
Ogden,  a  brigade  leader  of  the  Hudson's  Bay  company. 

t  Statement  of  Josiah  Bclden,  Bancroft  Collection.  Bancroft:  Hitt.  Cal. 
iv.  268-272. 


Immigrants  Arrested  255 

were  notified  that  any  person  going  to  California 
without  the  consent,  in  due  form,  of  the  Mexican 
consular  or  diplomatic  agent,  would  do  so  at  his 
peril,  and  orders  were  sent  to  California  that  no 
foreign  emigrants  were  to  be  permitted  to  remain  in 
the  country  except  those  who  were  provided  with 
legal  passports  and  even  those  settled  there  must 
furnish  letters  of  security  or  leave  the  country.* 
These  were  the  regulations  in  force  when  the  Bartle- 
son  party  arrived  at  Los  Medanos.  On  the  follow- 
ing day  Marsh  notified  the  sub-prefect  of  their 
arrival  and  said  they  would,  after  resting,  present 
themselves  to  the  authorities  and  prove  their  lawful 
intentions.  General  Vallejo,  commanding  on  the 
northern  frontier,  requested  Marsh  to  give  an 
account  of  his  conduct  in  inviting  such  an  immigra- 
tion, and  ordered  the  immigrants  arrested  and 
brought  to  him  at  Mission  San  Jose,  where  they  de- 
clared their  intention  of  becoming  lawful  citizens 
of  Mexico  and  alleged  their  ignorance  of  any  necessity 
for  passports.  Notwithstanding  his  express  orders 
Vallejo  decided  to  assume  the  responsibility  of  grant- 
ing temporary  permits  to  serve  to  legalize  their 
residence  and  he  took  bonds  of  well  known  citizens  for 
their  good  behavior.  The  immigrants  speak  well  of 
the  kindness  shown  them  by  Vallejo  and  other  Cali- 
fornians.  Another  party  of  overland  emigrants  under 
Workman  and  Rowland  came  by  the  Santa  Fe  route 


*  Statement   of  Josiah  Belden,  Bancroft  Collection,  Bancroft:  Hist.  Cal. 
iv,  264. 


256       The  Beginnings  of  San  Francisco 

and  reached  California  November  loth.  Among  them 
was  Benjamin  D.  Wilson  ("Don  Benito"),  well  known 
in  California.  A  small  party  came  from  Oregon  and 
reached  Sutter's  fort  in  October  of  that  year. 

In  June  1839  the  brigantine  Clementine,  Captain 
Blinn,  arrived  from  Honolulu  by  way  of  Sitka,  having 
on  board  John  A.  Sutter  and  his  party,  consisting  of 
four  or  five  Swiss  mechanics  and  several  Hawaiians 
with  their  wives.  Sutter  came  with  the  purpose  of 
establishing  a  large  colony  of  his  countrymen  in  the 
Sacramento  valley.  Nathan  Spear  sent  Sutter  and 
his  party  up  the  Sacramento  river  with  his  goods  in 
two  schooners  and  a  four  oared  boat,  under  command 
of  William  Heath  Davis.  Sutter  had  two  pieces  of 
artillery  and  other  arms  and  ammunition.  The 
fleet  left  Yerba  Buena  August  9,  1839,  and  traveled 
eight  days  up  the  river.  Entering  the  American 
river,  Sutter  landed,  pitched  his  tents  on  the  south 
bank,  mounted  his  brass  cannon,  and  made  ready 
his  small  arms  for  defense  against  the  Indians.  Davis 
says  that  Sutter  told  him  that  he  would  immediately 
build  a  fort  as  defense  against  the  Indians  and  also 
against  the  government  of  California  in  case  any 
hostility  should  be  manifested  in  that  quarter.  He 
also  said  he  intended  to  import  a  large  colony  of 
Swiss  and  develop  the  Sacramento  valley.* 

Sutter  obtained  a  grant  of  land  from  Governor 
Alvarado  and  built  his  fort  on  rising  ground  about 
two  miles  from  the  embarcadero,  as  the  landing  on 

*  Davis:     Sixty  Years  in  California,  16-18. 


Sutter's  Fort  257 

the  Sacramento  river  (now  the  city  of  Sacramento) 
was  called.  It  was  a  parallelogram,  five  hundred 
feet  long  by  one  hundred  and  fifty  wide,  built  of 
adobe  with  double  walls;  the  outer  wall  eighteen  or 
twenty  feet  high  and  the  inner,  somewhat  less.  The 
space  between  the  walls,  twent3^-five  feet,  was  roofed 
and  used  for  store  rooms,  stables,  etc.  In  the  center 
was  the  captain's  residence,  a  two-story  adobe  build- 
ing. Sutter  agreed  to  protect  the  Spanish  settle- 
ments from  the  raids  of  Indians  from  the  Sacramento 
valley  and  his  fort,  being  the  first  post  of  civilization 
reached  by  overland  immigrants  coming  by  the 
central  route,  became  the  refuge  and  rallying  point 
for  Americans  and  other  foreigners.  He  gathered 
about  him  a  trained  body  of  white  men  and  Indians 
and,  as  a  Mexican  officer  {juez  de  paz),  stopped  the 
fur-hunting  brigades  of  the  Hudson's  Bay  company 
from  further  descent  into  the  Sacramento  valley. ^° 

In  1840  Governor  Alvarado  becoming  alarmed  by 
the  actions  of  some  American  settlers  ordered  the 
arrest  of  all  foreigners.  Some  fifty  or  sixty  men  were 
arrested  and  sent  to  San  Bias  under  charge  of  General 
Castro.  The  Mexican  government  disavowed  the 
action  of  the  governor,  ordered  the  men  released, 
returned  to  California,  and  compensated  for  the 
trouble  and  inconvenience  to  which  they  had  been 
put. 

There  can  be  no  doubt  that  the  acquisition  of 
California  had  for  some  time  been  considered  by  the 
government  at  Washington,  or  that  the  attention 


258       The  Beginnings  of  San  Francisco 

of  some  of  the  European  governments  had  been 
directed  to  the  desirability  of  such  a  possession.  As 
far  back  as  1793  Vancouver  pointed  out  the  ease 
with  which  this  deHghtful  country  could  be  acquired. 
Rezanof,  Russian  envoy,  wrote  in  1806:  "The  Span- 
ish are  very  weak  in  these  countries,  and  if,  in  1798, 
when  war  was  declared  by  Spain,  we  had  had  a  force 
corresponding  to  its  proportions,  it  would  have  been 
very  easy  to  seize  a  portion  of  California."  France 
sent  several  expeditions  to  California,  and  the 
English  consuls  at  Pacific  ports,  notably  Alexander 
Forbes  at  Mazatlan  and  James  Alexander  Forbes 
at  Monterey,  urged  the  taking  of  California  for  the 
debt  due  England  by  Mexico. 

In  the  summer  of  1842,  Commodore  Thomas  Ap 
Catesby  Jones,  in  command  of  the  Pacific  squadron, 
was  in  the  harbor  of  Callao  with  the  frigate  United 
States,  sloops  Cyane,  Dale,  and  Yorktown  and 
schooner  Shark.  The  English  had  a  fleet  in  the  Pa- 
cific in  every  way  superior,  while  the  French  had,  in 
the  same  waters,  a  fleet  equal  to  both  the  English 
and  American  combined.  Jones'  instructions  were 
to  protect  the  commerce  of  the  United  States,  the 
flag  from  insult,  and  citizens  from  oppression.  In 
May  1842  the  French  fleet  sailed  from  Valparaiso, 
destination  unknown,  but  Jones  thought  it  might 
be  California.  On  September  3d  the  English  admiral 
sailed  from  Callao  with  three  men-of-war,  under 
sealed  orders  just  received  from  England.  At  the 
same  time  Jones  received  a  letter  from  John  Parrott, 


Monterey  Captured  259 

United  States  consul  at  Mazatlan,  dated  June  22d, 
in  which  he  stated  that  war  with  Mexico  was  immi- 
nent, and  he  enclosed  a  Boston  newspaper  containing 
an  item  to  the  effect  that  Mexico  had  ceded  Cali- 
fornia to  England  for  ^7,000,000.  After  consultation 
with  the  United  States  charge  d'affaires  at  Lima,  Jones 
put  to  sea  with  the  United  States,  Cyane,  and  Dale. 
Sending  the  Dale  to  Panama  with  dispatches,  Jones 
proceeded  with  the  other  two  vessels  under  full  sail 
for  Monterey  which  he  reached  October  19th  and 
anchored  at  2  p.  m.  under  the  guns  of  the  castillo. 

With  full  realization  of  his  responsibilty  Jones  sent 
Captain  Armstrong  ashore  at  4  p.  m.  with  a  flag  of 
truce  to  demand  a  surrender  of  the  post  to  the  United 
States,  "to  avoid  the  sacrifice  of  human  life  and  the 
horrors  of  war."  The  demand  was  presented  to 
Alvarado  who  was  given  until  9  o'clock  the  next 
morning  to  consider  the  proposition.  Resistance 
to  such  a  force  was  useless  and  before  the  hour 
named  articles  of  capitulation  were  signed. 

At  1 1  a.  m.  on  the  20th  Jones  landed  one  hundred 
and  fifty  men  under  Commander  Stribling;  the  gar- 
rison marched  out  of  the  fort  with  music  and  with 
colors  flying  and  gave  up  their  arms  at  the  govern- 
ment house.  The  American  force  took  possession 
of  the  Castillo  and  raised  the  stars  and  stripes.  The 
frigate  and  sloop  fired  a  salute  and  the  guns  of  the 
fort  replied.* 


*  Bancroft:     Hist,  of  Cal.  iv,  256-329. 


26o       The  Beginnings  of  San  Francisco 

Jones  soon  learned  that  he  had  made  a  mistake; 
that  relations  between  the  United  States  and  Mexico 
were  friendly,  and  that  there  was  no  truth  in  the 
rumored  cession  to  England.  He  apologized,  re- 
stored the  post  to  the  Mexican  officials,  saluted  the 
Mexican  flag,  and  sailed  away.  His  act  was  disa- 
vowed by  the  United  States  government  and  he  was 
ordered  home  for  trial.  He  was  later  exonerated 
from  all  blame  by  the  secretary  of  the  navy. 

This  action  by  the  United  States  naval  commander 
was  considered  indicative  of  the  purpose  of  that 
government  to  take  possession  of  California,  and  the 
Forbes'  and  other  Englishmen  redoubled  their  efforts 
for  an  English  protectorate  or  annexation.  Mean- 
while immigration  from  the  United  States  continued 
and  notwithstanding  the  feeling  against  Americans 
in  Mexico,  they  were  treated  with  kindness  and 
hospitality  by  the  authorities  in  California.  In  the 
Sacramento  valley  the  Americans  became  so  numer- 
ous that  they  began  to  consider  the  country  theirs 
and  resented  the  restrictions  and  requirements  of 
Mexican  law.  In  the  revolt  of  Alvarado  against 
Micheltorena  in  1844-5,  the  Americans  took  a  hand, 
and  Sutter  marched  with  Micheltorena  against 
Alvarado  and  Castro  with  a  force  of  one  hundred 
foreign  riflemen — mostly  Americans,  one  hundred 
trained  Indians,  and  eight  or  ten  artillerymen  in 
charge  of  a  brass  field  piece.  To  oppose  Sutter's 
riflemen  Alvarado  raised  a  company  of  fifty  foreigners 
in  the  south.     The  opposing  armies  with  their  for- 


Entry  of  Americans  Prohibited  261 

eign  contingents  met  in  the  San  Fernando  valley, 
near  Los  Angeles,  February  21,  1845,  and  after  two 
days  cannonading,  during  which  a  horse  had  his 
head  blown  off  and  a  mule  was  wounded,  Michel- 
torena  proposed  terms  of  capitulation.  At  the  com- 
mencement of  the  action  the  foreigners  on  both  sides, 
by  agreement,  retired  from  their  several  parties, 
leaving  the  Californians  to  fight  the  battle  alone.* 
Before  marching  to  the  aid  of  Governor  Micheltorena, 
Sutter  took  the  precaution  to  secure  from  him  large 
grants  of  land  for  his  followers. 

In  September  1845  the  Mexican  government  sent 
to  California  positive  orders  prohibiting  the  entry 
of  Americans  from  Oregon  or  Missouri.  Immi- 
grants were  summoned  to  appear  before  the  prefect 
and  the  comandante-general.  The  order  was  read 
to  them  and  the  immigrants  protested  that  their 
intentions  were  lawful;  that  they  had  not  been 
informed  that  passports  were  necessary;  that  it 
was  impossible  to  cross  the  mountains  during  the 
winter,  and  they  promised  that  if  permitted  to  remain 
until  spring  they  would  obey  the  laws  in  every  par- 
ticular and  would  then  go  away  if  license  was  denied 
them.  Castro  considered  the  hardship  to  the  women 
and  children  if  the  immigrants  were  compelled  to 
leave  the  department  during  the  winter  season,  and 
he  compromised  his  duty  with  the  sentiment  of 
hospitality  so  strong  in  the  breast  of  every  Californian 
and  granted  them  temporary  permits,  taking  bonds 

*  Robinson:     Life  in  California,  218-219. 


262       The  Beginnings  of  San  Francisco 

to  Insure  their  good  behavior  and  their  departure 
in  the  spring,  should  license  to  remain  be  refused. 
Meanwhile  they  were  to  remain  under  surveillance 
of  the  Vallejos  at  Sonoma  and  Napa  and  of  Captain 
Sutter  on  the  Sacramento.  It  does  not  appear  that 
this  matter  was  carried  any  further — certainly  the 
settlers  did  not  leave  California — and  Bancroft  says 
that  both  General  Vallejo  at  Sonoma  and  Salvador 
Vallejo  at  Napa  treated  the  settlers  with  great  benev- 
olence, without  which  they  could  not  have  gotten 
through  the  winter.* 

How  well  the  consideration  of  the  California 
officials  was  requited  by  the  Americans  is  told  in 
the  story  of  the  Bear  Flag  revolt.  Encouraged  by 
the  presence  of  Captain  John  C.  Fremont,  of  the 
United  States  topographical  engineers,  a  party  of 
armed  Americans  under  Ezekiel  Merritt,  took  pos- 
session of  the  town  of  Sonoma  on  June  14,  1846, 
made  prisoners  of  General  Vallejo,  his  brother  Sal- 
vador, Lieut.-Colonel  Prudon  and  Jacob  P.  Leese, 
sent  them  under  guard  to  Sutter's  fort,  raised  the 
Bear  Flag,  and  proclaimed  the  "  California  Republic." 
Fremont,  with  a  party  of  sixty  armed  men,  was 
engaged  in  an  exploring  expedition  and  had  come 
into  California  to  rest  and  recruit  his  men.  Obtain- 
ing permission  to  encamp  for  that  purpose  in  the  San 
Joaquin  valley,  he  had  brought  his  men  into  the 
Salinas,  to  the  very  doors  of  Monterey.  In  conse- 
quence of  this  move  and  in  obedience  to  orders  from 

*  Several  of  these  men  took  part  in  the  Bear  Flag  affair  the  following  June. 


The  Affair  at  Gavilan  Peak  263 

Mexico,  he  was  directed  by  the  authorities  to  leave 
the  department  at  once.  Fremont  chose  to  consider 
this  an  insult,  and  withdrawing  to  the  summit  of 
the  Gavilan  mountains,  he  erected  fortifications, 
raised  over  them  the  American  flag,  and  announced 
his  purpose  to  hold  the  position  or  die  in  defense  of 
it.*  Later  he  withdrew  to  the  Sacramento  valley 
and  started  for  Oregon,  but  returned  in  May  to  the 
upper  Sacramento,  and  remained  quiet,  watching 
the  movements  of  the  disaffected  settlers.  He  was 
asked  to  take  command  of  the  contemplated  rising 
but  declined  to  commit  himself,  though  he  afterwards 
claimed  to  be  the  head  and  front  of  the  revolt,  and 
that  Merritt  and  other  leaders  among  the  Americans 
were  acting  under  his  instructions.!  Moving  nearer 
to  the  "seat  of  war,"  Fremont  and  his  party  were 
encamped  at  the  embarcadero  on  the  Sacramento 
river  when  the  prisoners  were  brought  before  him. 
He  declined  to  receive  them.  General  Vallejo 
demanded  to  know  why  and  by  whose  authority  he 
had  been  arrested  and  dragged  from  his  home. 
Fremont  denied  that  he  was  in  any  way  responsible 
for  what  had  been  done,  declaring  that  they  were 
prisoners  of  the  people  who  had  been  driven  to 
revolt  for  self-protection.  The  prisoners  were  taken 
to  Sutter's  fort  where  they  were  imprisoned  for  two 
months.     Thus  did  the  foreigners  return  the  kind- 


*"If  unjustly  attacked  we  will  fight  to  extremity  and  refuse  quarter." 
Fremont  to  Larhin,  March  g,  1846. 

t  Fremont:     Memoir  of  My  Life,  i,  509. 


264       The  Beginnings  of  San  Francisco 

ness  and  forbearance  of  the  owners  of  the  soil.  Of 
all  the  Californlans,  Vallejo  was  most  friendly  to 
the  Americans,  was  favorable  to  American  ascend- 
ency, and  believed  that  the  best  interests  of  his 
country  lay  in  its  absorption  by  the  United  States. ^^ 
In  the  spring  of  1846  the  Mormons  driven  from 
Nauvoo  began  their  western  pilgrimage,  and  Sam 
Brannan,  Mormon  preacher  and  elder,  sailed  from 
New  York  with  about  two  hundred  saints  for  San 
Francisco.  Believing  that  the  United  States  govern- 
ment would  take  California  the  Mormon  leaders 
laid  before  the  Washington  authorities  a  proposition 
to  colonize  that  country  with  ten  or  twelve  thousand 
Mormons,  then  at  Nauvoo,  and  bring  forty  thousand 
more  from  the  British  islands,  giving  the  president 
assurance  that  the  patriotism  and  fidelity  of  the 
Mormons  to  the  United  States  government  could 
be  fully  relied  upon.  Meanwhile  the  war  with  Mex- 
ico broke  out  and  General  Kearny  was  ordered  with 
his  command  from  Fort  Leavenworth  to  California 
by  the  Santa  Fe  route.  The  offer  of  the  Mormons 
was  rejected,  but  Kearny  was  authorized  to  enlist 
from  among  the  Mormons  who  desired  to  go  to  Cali- 
fornia, five  companies  of  one  hundred  men  each,  for 
one  year's  service.  The  vanguard  of  the  Mormon 
advance  had  now  reached  Council  Bluffs,  on  the 
Missouri  river,  and  here  the  men  were  enlisted. 
This  was  the  Mormon  battalion  which,  under  Lieut. 
Colonel  Philip  St.  George  Cooke,  reached  California 
in  January  1847, 


Termination  of  Bear  Flag  War         265 

The  founders  of  the  "California  RepubHc"  were 
beginning  to  feel  somewhat  uneasy  regarding  the 
fate  of  their  undertaking  when  on  the  7th  of  July 
1846,  Commodore  Sloat  landed  his  men  at  Monterey, 
raised  the  United  States  flag,  and  took  formal  posses- 
sion of  California.  This  terminated  the  embarrass- 
ment of  the  Bear  Flag  party.  The  movement  had 
been  an  ill-advised  one,  an  unnecessary  and  utterly 
unwarranted  interference  with  a  people  from  whom 
they  had  received  nothing  but  kindness  and  hospi- 
tality. Their  conduct  at  this  time  and  later  created 
such  a  feeling  of  antagonism  towards  Americans  as 
made  difficult  the  pacification  of  the  country.  The 
better  class  of  Californians  had  long  realized  the 
fact  that  the  province  would  be  infinitely  better  oft 
under  either  English  or  American  rule  and  would 
have  accepted  the  change  with  relief.  General 
Kearny  says  in  his  official  report  from  Monterey 
March  15,  1847.  •]•***  "The  Californians  are  now 
quiet,  and  I  shall  endeavor  to  keep  them  so  by  mild 
and  gentle  treatment.  Had  they  received  such  treat- 
ment from  the  time  our  flag  was  hoisted  here,  in 
July  last,  I  believe  there  would  have  been  but  little 
or  no  resistance  on  their  part.  They  have  been  most 
cruelly  and  shamefully  abused  by  our  own  people — 
by  the  volunteers  (American  emigrants)  raised  in  this 
part  of  the  country  and  on  the  Sacramento.  Had  they 
not  resisted  they  would  have  been  unworthy  the  name 
of  men.''^^" 

t  Executive  Doc.  No.  17,  H.  of  R.  31st  Cong,  ist  Ses.  p.  284 . 


266      The  Beginnings  of  San  Francisco 

I  cannot,  in  this  place,  go  into  the  history  of  the 
Conquest.  With  the  return  of  peace  the  country 
settled  down  to  the  quiet  life  of  a  rural  people. 
Everything  was  peaceful  and  dull,  until  suddenly, 
when  no  man  expected,  there  came  a  change  of  tran- 
scendent magnitude. 


NOTES 


Note  i 
SAN  CARLOS  BORROMEO 

Some  years  ago,  on  proper  representation  being  made 
to  the  government,  the  war  department  issued  the  follow- 
ing: 

"General  Order  No.  142. 
"War  Department,  Washington,  August  29,  1904. 

"The  following  order  is  published  to  the  Army  for  the 
information  and  guidance  of  all  concerned. 

"War  Department,  Washington,  August  25,  1904: 
"By  the  direction  of  the  President,  the  cantonment  on 
the  military  reservation  at  Monterey,  Cal.  named  Ord  Barracks 
by  War  Department  order  of  July  10,  1903,  will  hereafter  be 
known  as  the  Presidio  of  Monterey,  in  perpetuation  of  the 
name  of  the  first  Spanish  military  station  in  California. 

William  H.  Taft, 

Secretary  of  War. " 

The  presidio  and  mission  of  San  Carlos  Borromeo 
were  formally  established  by  Portola  June  3,  1770,  the 
religious  ceremony  being  conducted  by  Junipero  Serra, 
president  of  the  California  missions.  In  1771  or  1772 
the  mission  was  moved  from  its  original  site  near  the 
presidio  to  the  Rio  del  Carmelo,  about  one  league  distant. 
In  1777  Monterey  was  made  the  capital  of  the  Californias 
— Alta  and  Baja  California  being  united  under  one  gover- 
nor— and  with  the  exception  of  a  few  years  when  the 
seat  of  government  was  at  Los  Angeles  it  remained  the 
capital  of  Alta  California  until  the  American  occupation. 

Count  Carlos  Borromeo,  for  whom  the  presidio  and 
mission  were  named,  was  an  Italian  nobleman,  son  of 
the  Count  of  Arona  and  nephew  of  Pope  Pius  IV.  He 
was  born  in  Arona  October  2,  1538.     At  the  age  of  twenty- 

269 


270       The  Beginnings  of  San  Francisco 

two  he  was  created  cardinal  and  soon  after  made  arch- 
bishop of  Milan.  He  devoted  much  time  to  reforming 
abuses  which  had  grown  up  in  the  church  and  to  the 
establishment  of  seminaries,  colleges,  and  communities 
for  the  education  of  candidates  for  holy  orders.  To 
the  people  he  was  ever  the  friend  and  counselor.  His 
life  was  spent  in  their  service;  in  succoring  the  sick;  in 
relieving  distress  whenever  and  wherever  he  found  it. 
His  heart,  his  hand,  and  his  purse  were  always  open. 
In  1576  when  Milan  was  visited  by  the  plague,  he  went 
about  giving  directions  for  accommodating  the  sick  and 
burying  the  dead,  avoiding  no  danger  and  sparing  no 
expense.  He  visited  all  the  neighboring  parishes  where 
the  contagion  raged,  distributing  money,  providing 
accommodations  for  the  sick,  and  punishing  those, 
especially  the  clergy,  who  were  remiss  in  discharging 
their  duties.  Moving  calmly  amid  the  panic  stricken 
people  "he  was  brave  where  all  others  were  cowards, 
full  of  compassion  where  pity  had  been  crushed  out  of 
all  other  breasts  by  the  instinct  of  self  preservation  gone 
mad  with  terror;  cheering  all,  praying  with  all,  helping 
all  with  hand,  brain,  and  purse;  at  a  time  when  parents 
forsook  their  children,  the  friend  deserted  the  friend, 
and  the  brother  turned  away  from  the  sister  while  her 
pleadings  were  still  wailing  in  his  ears."* 

The  reforms  instituted  by  Borromeo  were  fiercely 
opposed  by  the  civil  authorities  and  by  several  religious 
orders.  The  governor  and  many  of  the  senators  addressed 
remonstrances  to  the  courts  of  Rome  and  Madrid,  and 
a  conspiracy,  which  failed,  was  formed  against  his  life. 
His  manifold  labors  and  austerities  appear,  however, 
to  have  shortened  his  life.  He  was  seized  with  an 
intermittent   fever,    and    died    at   Milan   on   the   4th   of 


■"Mark  Twain:     The  Innocents  Abroad.     Autograph  Ed.  231-2. 


Notes  271 

November  1584.  He  was  canonized  in  1610,  and  his 
day  is  November  4th.  Contrary  to  his  last  wishes 
a  memorial  was  erected  to  him  in  Milan  cathedral,  as 
well  as  a  statue  seventy  feet  high  on  the  hill  above 
Arona. 


272       The  Beginnings  of  San  Francisco 

Note  2 
PUNTA  DE  LOS  REYES 

"The  Kings  of  Tarshish  and  of  the  Isles  shall  bring 
presents,  the  Kings  of  Sheba  and  Seba  shall  offer  gifts" 
{Ps.  Ixxii,  id).  The  Three  Kings  of  Cologne:  Kaspar, 
Melchior,  and  Balthasar — the  three  wise  men  of  the 
East — are  honored  at  the  feast  of  the  Epiphany  as  the 
first  of  the  pagans  to  whom  the  birth  of  the  Messiah 
was  announced. 

On  the  i6th  of  November  1542,  Juan  Rodrigues 
Cabrillo,  a  Portuguese  "very  conversant  with  matters 
of  the  sea,"  in  command  of  the  San  Salvador  (flag  ship) 
and  La  Victoria,  vessels  sent  by  the  viceroy,  Don  Antonio 
de  Mendoza,  to  explore  the  northern  coasts  of  New  Spain, 
found  himself  upon  a  large  gulf  that  looked  like  a  harbor 
and  after  beating  about  this  gulf  all  that  day  and  night 
and  the  day  following  without  finding  any  river  or  shelter, 
cast  his  anchor  in  forty  fathoms  in  order  to  take  possession 
of  the  land.  They  called  the  great  gulf  La  Bahia  de  los 
Pinos,  and  Professor  George  Davidson  has  identified  It 
as  the  Gulf  of  the  Farallones.  So  far  as  I  know,  they  gave 
no  name  to  the  cape  that  marks  its  northern  point. 
The  next  visitor  of  whom  we  have  record  was  Francis 
Drake  who  anchored  in  the  little  bay  under  Punta  de 
los  Reyes  June  17,  1579.  He  gave  the  point  no  name 
although  the  bay  bears  his.  Next  came  Sebastian 
Rodrigues  Cermeiio,  whose  ship,  the  San  Agustin, 
was  lost  here  in  1 595.  It  remained  for  Sebastian  Vizcaino, 
to  whom  we  are  indebted  for  so  many  beautiful  names, 
to  honor  the  Three  Kings  of  Cologne  by  naming  for 
them  the  Punta  de  los  Reyes. 


Notes  273 

"The  Capitana  (Flag-ship,  San  Diego)  and  Fragata  (Tres 
Reyes)  had  no  sooner  left  the  harbor  of  Monterey  (January 
3,  1603)  to  seek  for  the  Cabo  de  Mendocino,  than  they  had  a 
formidable  wind  which  lasted  to  the  sixth  of  January,  the  day 
of  Los  Santos  Reyes,  and  carried  them  beyond  the  Puerto 
de  San  Francisco  (Drake's  bay),  and  the  day  after  that  of  Los 
Reyes,  which  was  the  7th  of  January,  the  wind  suddenly  shifted 
to  the  northwest  and  blew  somewhat  fiercely  but  they  were 
able  to  make  some  headway;  and  the  Fragata  concluding 
there  was  no  necessity  to  seek  a  harbor  from  this  wind,  continued 
her  voyage,  but  Vizcaino  returned  with  the  Capitana  to  the 
Puerto  de  San  Francisco  to  await  the  return  of  the  Fragata 
*  *  *  and  learn  if  anything  was  to  be  found  of  the  ship  San 
Agustin  which  came  upon  the  coast  in  1595,  *  *  *  and  was 
wrecked  and  driven  on  shore  by  a  contrary  wind.  *  *  * 

"The  Capitana  came  to  anchor  behind  a  point  of  land  which 
makes  this  port,  and  which  he  (Vizcaino)  called  La  Punta 
de  los  Reyes."* 

*Venegas:    Noticia  de  la  California. 


274       The  Beginnings  of  San  Francisco 

Note  3 
ORTEGA 

Jose  Francisco  Ortega,  the  discover  of  the  bay  of 
San  Francisco,  was  born  in  the  city  of  Celayo,  in  the 
state  of  Guanajuato,  Mexico,  in  1734.  He  enlisted  in 
the  company  of  the  royal  presidio  of  Loreto  (Lower 
California),  October  i,  1755;  was  made  a  corporal  August 
3,  1756,  and  a  sergeant  February  8,  1757.  On  the 
14th  of  August  1773,  Ortega  was  made  a  lieutenant  and 
assigned  to  the  command  of  San  Diego.  During  this 
year  Junipero  Serra,  who  had  quarreled  with  Captain 
Fages,  the  comandante  of  California,  made  a  trip 
to  the  city  of  Mexico  to  induce  the  viceroy,  Bucareli,  to 
recall  Fages,  and  he  wished  him  to  appoint  Ortega  to 
the  command,  saying  that  the  seiiores  of  the  regular  army 
were  unfitted  by  education  and  training  for  the  peculiar 
duties  required  of  a  commander  of  a  frontier  department 
"not  being  versed  in  the  service  of  the  soldados  de  cuera, 
totally  diflferent  from  that  of  the  other  troops. "  Bucareli 
agreed  to  recall  Fages,  realizing  that  to  obtain  the  best 
results  from  the  reduction  of  California  there  must 
be  harmony  between  the  military  and  religious  branches 
of  the  government.  He  demurred  however,  to  the 
appointment  of  Ortega,  urging  want  of  rank,  but  probably 
not  wishing  to  have  a  comandante  too  much  under  the 
influence  of  the  venerable  priest.  Junipero  said  that 
the  objection  regarding  Ortega's  want  of  rank  was  easily 
overcome,  but  Bucareli  settled  the  matter  by  appointing 
Captain  Fernando  Rivera  y  Moncada,  the  commander 
of  the  presidio  of  Loreto,  and  Ortega  was  given  his 
lieutenancy  and  sent  to  San  Diego.  While  Ortega  was 
in  command  at  San  Diego  there  occurred  the  first  serious 


Notes  275 

trouble  with  the  Indians  of  California.  On  the  night 
of  November  4-5,  1775,  without  warning,  a  body  of 
eight  or  ten  hundred  savages  attacked  the  mission, 
burned  the  church  and  other  buildings,  and  killed  one 
of  the  priests,  a  carpenter,  and  a  blacksmith.  The 
mission  guard  finally  beat  them  off  but  not  until  all 
the  soldiers  were  badly  wounded.  Ortega  was  absent 
at  the  time,  having  gone  with  about  one  half  of  his  force 
to  establish  the  mission  of  San  Juan  Capistrano.  Being 
notified  by  messenger  of  the  disaster,  he  at  once  returned 
and  took  active  measures  to  repress  the  revolt. 

In  1781  Ortega  founded  the  presidio  of  Santa  Barbara 
where  he  served  as  comandante  until  1784.  In  1782 
he  founded  the  mission  of  San  Buenaventura.  From 
1784  to  1787  he  served  on  the  frontier  in  various  ex- 
cursions and  explorations,  and  in  September  1787  was 
assigned  to  the  command  of  Monterey.  Here  he  served 
until  1791  when  he  was  transferred  to  Loreto  where  he 
succeeded  Captain  Arrillaga,  later  governor  of  California, 
and  in  1795  was  retired  as  brevet  captain  and  attached 
to  the  Santa  Barbara  presidio.  He  died  February  3, 
1798,    and   was   buried    in    the    Santa    Barbara    mission. 

The  blood  of  this  interesting  pioneer  of  California 
flows  in  the  veins  of  many  prominent  families  of  the 
state,  as  the  De  la  Guerra,  Bandini,  Wilcox,  More, 
Vallejo,  Carrlllo,  Castro,  and  others  will  testify.  His 
sons  became  ranchero  princes  and  his  granddaughters 
wives  of  governors.  His  wife  was  Maria  Antonia  Victoria 
Carrillo,  who  outlived  him,  dying  May  8,  1803. 


276       The  Beginnings  of  San  Francisco 

Note  4 
SAN  BUENAVENTURA 

San  Buenaventura  (Giovanni  de  Fidenza)  was  born 
in  Bagnorea,  Italy,  in  1221;  died  in  Lyons,  France,  July 
15,  1274,  He  became  general  of  the  Franciscans  in 
1256  and  was  canonized  in  1482.  He  was  greatly  beloved 
and  received  the  title  of  doctor  serafico.  When  the  settle- 
ment of  California  was  decided  on,  it  was  ordered  that 
a  mission  should  be  established  at  San  Diego  bay,  one  at 
Monterey  bay,  and  one  to  be  known  as  San  Buenaventura, 
in  honor  of  the  doctor  serafico^  at  a  point  to  be  selected 
between  the  two.  The  mission  was  founded  by  Junipero 
Serra  March  31,  1782,  in  presence  of  the  governor,  Don 
Felipe  de  Neve,  the  troops  being  under  command  of 
Lieutenant  Don  Jose  Francisco  de  Ortega.  A  thriving 
town  of  thirty-five  hundred  inhabitants  is  the  result  of 
that  establishment.  The  postal  authorities  some  years 
ago  changed  the  name  to  Ventura. 


Notes  277 


Note  5 
DON  PEDRO  FACES 

Don  Pedro  Fages,  first  comandante  and  fourth  governor 
of  California,  was  born  in  Catalonia,  Spain,  and  came  to 
Mexico  in  1767  with  the  First  battalion,  Second  regi- 
ment, Catalonia  Volunteers,  in  which  he  held  the  rank 
of  lieutenant.  In  the  autumn  of  1768  he  joined  the 
California  expedition  by  order  of  Galvez,  being  appointed 
jefe  de  las  armas  to  the  expedition,  and  with  twenty-five 
of  his  men,  sailed  for  San  Diego  bay  on  the  ill-fated 
San  Carlos.  While  still  weak  and  sick  from  the  scurvy 
he  joined  Portola  on  his  march  to  Monterey;  and  also 
accompanied  him  on  his  second  expedition  in  1770, 
which  founded  the  presidio  and  mission  of  Monterey, 
when  he  was  appointed  by  Portola  comandante  of 
California.  In  November  1770,  he  made  a  brief  explor- 
ing trip  to  the  bay  of  San  Francisco,  going  perhaps  as 
far  as  San  Leandro  creek  on  the  Alameda  coast,  while 
his  men  pushed  on  to  Carqulnes  strait.  He  was  made 
a  captain  May  4,  1771,  and  In  1772  he  explored  the 
eastern  and  southern  coasts  of  San  Francisco,  San  Pablo, 
and  Suisun  bays,  and  the  San  Joaquin  river.  He  gave 
the  name  of  Rio  de  San  Francisco  to  the  waters  now 
known  as  the  straits  of  Carqulnes,  Suisun  bay,  and  San 
Joaquin  river.  In  1773  Junipero  Serra,  with  whom  he 
had  quarreled,  procured  his  recall  and  he  was  ordered 
to  join  his  battalion  at  Real  de  MInas  de  Pachuca,  Mexico. 
He  turned  over  his  command  to  Rivera  March  24,  1774, 
and  sailed  with  his.  Catalans  for  Mexico;  the  places  of 
the  Infantrymen  being  filled  with  soldados  de  cuera  brought 
by  Rivera. 


278       The  Beginnings  of  San  Francisco 

In  a  subsequent  letter  to  the  viceroy  Serra  expresses 
regret  for  the  removal  of  Pages,  commendation  for  his 
services,  and  a  desire  that  he  be  favored  by  the  govern- 
ment. 

Fages  made  two  trips  to  the  Rio  Colorado  in  178 1-2 
to  punish  the  Yumas  for  the  massacre  and  destruction 
of  the  Colorado  missions,  and  on  July  12,  1782,  was 
appointed  governor  of  California,  having  previously 
been  made  a  lieutenant-colonel,  and  reached  the  capital, 
Monterey,  the  following  November.  In  1789  he  was 
made  a  colonel.  He  was  retired  at  his  own  request 
April  16,  1791,  and  died  in  Mexico  in  1796.  His  wife 
was  Dona  Eulalia  Calis,  whom  he  married  in  Catalonia. 
One  child,  Maria  del  Carmen,  was  born  in  San  Francisco 
August  3,  1784. 

Don  Pedro  Fages  was  a  pioneer  of  pioneers,  a  brave 
soldier,  and  undaunted  explorer  and  a  gallant  and  pictur- 
esque figure  of  early  California.  He  is  described  in  his 
latter  days  as  a  toll,  stout  man  of  generous,  open  disposition, 
very  fond  of  children,  who  used  to  search  his  pockets 
for  the  cakes  and  confections  {dukes)  with  which  he  used 
to  fill  them  for  their  delight. 


I 


Notes  279 

Note  6 

THE  SAN  CARLOS  Alias  EL  TOISON 
DE      ORO      (GOLDEN      FLEECE) 

As  the  first  ship  to  enter  the  port  of  San  Francisco 
the  packet  San  Carlos  is  entitled  to  notice  here.  We 
are  told  that  the  two  paquebots,  San  Carlos  and  San 
Antonio,  were  built  in  1768  at  the  newly  constructed  dock 
yards  of  San  Bias,  by  order  of  the  Most  Illustrious  Seiior 
Don  Jose  de  Galvez,  visitador-general  of  New  Spain, 
for  the  contemplated  expedition  to  San  Diego  and 
Monterey.  Costanso,  engineer  and  officer  of  the  regu- 
lar army,  who  accompanied  the  expedition,  says  that 
in  all  the  coasts  of  New  Spain  the  only  maritime  forces 
that  could  be  used  to  oppose  foreign  invasion  were  these 
two  packets  and  two  other  vessels  of  smaller  tonnage 
which  served  the  Jesuit  missionaries  of  Baja  California 
in  their  communications  with  the  coasts  of  Sonora  and 
New  Galicia.  The  two  packets  made  their  maiden 
voyages  in  March  1768,  sailing  from  San  Bias  with  troops 
for  Guaymas.  Returning  to  San  Bias  they  were  ordered 
to  La  Paz,  Lower  California,  to  take  on  a  portion  of  the 
California  expedition  and  stores  for  the  new  foundations. 
The  San  Carlos  reached  La  Paz  December  15th,  leaking 
badly  from  the  rough  handling  of  the  seas.  Under  the 
forceful  supervision  of  the  sefior  visitador  she  was  ca- 
reened, her  gaping  seams  closed,  and  on  January  loth 
sailed,  under  command  of  Don  Vicente  Vila,  for  San 
Diego  bay,  the  rendezvous  of  the  expedition.  She 
carried  Lieutenant  Fages  and  his  company  of  infantry. 
Engineer  Costanso,  Surgeon  Pratt,  and  for  the  spiritual 
care  of  all,  the  very  reverend  Father  Fray  Fernando 
Parron. 


28o       The  Beginnings  of  San  Francsico 

Owing  to  the  constancy  of  the  north  and  northwest 
winds  which  so  greatly  opposed  the  navigation  of  the 
coasts  of  California,  the  San  Carlos  found  herself  driven 
far  out  of  her  course,  short  of  water,  and  obliged  to  put 
into  the  island  of  Cedros  for  a  fresh  supply.  At  last 
on  April  29th,  she  reached  San  Diego  in  a  most  deplorable 
condition,  all  hands  sick  with  scurvy,  of  which  two  had 
died,  and  only  four  sailors  able  to  keep  the  deck.  The 
San  Antonio  had  arrived  eighteen  days  before  in  much 
the  same  condition,  but  seeing  no  signs  of  the  other  divi- 
sions of  the  expedition,  had  made  no  attempt  to  land. 
Encouraged  now  by  the  presence  of  her  consort  an  ex- 
ploring party  was  sent  out  to  find  water  and  preparations 
were  made  to  land  the  sick.  Hospital  tents  were  erected 
on  the  beach,  protected  by  palisades,  the  sick  removed 
to  them  and  all  that  could  be  was  done  for  them.  No 
one  was  well  and  the  labor  of  the  few  who  remained  on 
their  feet  was  very  great  and  rapidly  increased  as  their 
numbers  lessened;  while  of  the  sick  several  died  every 
day,  until  of  all  who  had  sailed  on  the  two  ships  two- 
thirds  were  laid  under  the  sands  of  Punta  de  los  Muertos 
(Deadmen's  Point).  The  Indians,  of  whom  there  were 
many,  were  a  miserable  lot,  thievish  and  impudent, 
and  altogether  the  colonists  found  themselves  in  a  most 
critical  situation.  Their  medicines  were  gone  and  but 
very  little  food  was  left  when  on  May  14th,  the  first 
division  of  the  land  expedition  under  Rivera  arrived. 
Rivera  was  also  short  of  provisions  but  his  men  were  all 
well  and  his  arrival  changed  the  aspect  of  the  camp  of 
desolation.  It  was  determined  to  send  the  San  Antonio 
back  for  supplies;  all  the  available  sailors  were  placed 
on  her  and  she  sailed  for  San  Bias  June  8th  with  eight 
men  for  a  crew.  On  June  29th  the  second  land  division 
under  Portola  arrived  with  one  hundred  and  sixty-three 
mules  laden  with  provisions.     On  July  14th  Portola  began 


THE  SAN  CARLOS  ENTERING  THE  BAY  OF 

SAN  FRANCISCO,  AUGUST  5,  1771; 

The  first  ship  to  enter  the  port. 

Drawn  bv  Walter  Francis. 


>  i  Ah  Beginnings 

nstancy  of  the  noi 

u  so  greatly  opposed  the  na. 
....  _alifornia,  the  San  Carlos  found  : 
f.i.r  out  of  her  course,  short  of  water,  and  obiir 
into  the  island  of  Cedros  for  a  fresh  supply, 
on  April  29th,  she  reached  San  Diego  in  a  most  de^ 
condition,  all  hands  sick  with  scurvy,  of  which  t 
died,  and  only  four  sailors  able  to  keep  the  deck 
San  Antonio  had  arrived  eighteen  days  before  in 
the  same  condition,  but  seeing  no  signs  of  the  other  divi- 
sions of  the  expedition,  had  made  no  attempt  to  land. 
Encouraged  now  by  the  presence  of  her  consort  an  ex- 
ploring party  was  sent  out  to  find  water  and  preparations 
were  made  to  land  the  sick.     Hospital  tents  were  erected 
on  the  beach,  protected  bv  palisades,  the  sick  removed 
to  them  3M  WfflT  9m¥imi^^^^hmBr^li^m.     No 
one  was  well  M'  th?W^^  (3^^?mWi^^^m  remained  on 
their  feet  was  vef>^°lfliiiP^5?ieP^?^JV^4ficreased  as  their 
numbers  lessened;  while  01  the^sicYv^several  died  every 
day,  until  of  all  who  had  sailed  on  the  two  ships  two- 
thirds  were  laid  under  the  sands  of  Punta  de  los  Muertos 
(Deadmen's  Point).    The  Indians,  of  whom  there  were 
many,    were    a    miserable   lot,    thievish    and    impudent, 
and  altogether  the  colonists  found  themselves  in  a  most 
critical  situation.     Their  medicines  were  gone  and  but 
very  little  food  was  left  when  on  May  14th,  the  first 
division  of   the  land   expedition  under  Rivera   arrived. 
Rivera  was  also  short  of  provisions  but  his  men  were  all 
well  and  his  arrival  changed  the  aspect  of  tl 
desolation.     It  was  determined  to  send  the  S 
back  for  supplies;  all  the  available  sailors  w 
on  her  and  she  sailed  for  San  Bias  June 
men  for  a  crew.     On  June  29th  the  secoi 
under  Portola  arrived  with  one  hundr  y-three 

mules  laden  with  provisions.     On  July  tola  began 


—i^ 


jlSi7!|F».j-;       .,jj^.;-;BiJ»       ii« 


Notes  281 

his  march  to  Monterey  leaving  his  sick  under  protection 
of  a  guard,  and  the  San  Carlos  swinging  at  her  cables 
without  a  sailor  to  her  deck. 

The  voyage  of  the  San  Carlos  in  1775  for  the  survey  of 
the  bay  of  San  Francisco  is  told  in  chapter  ii  of  the  nar- 
rative. 

On  the  5th  of  June  1776,  the  San  Carlos  sailed  from 
Monterey  for  San  Francisco  under  command  of  Don 
Fernando  Quiros,  lieutenant  of  man-of-war,  having 
on  board  a  portion  of  the  soldiers  for  the  San  Francisco 
presidio,  two  cannon  and  other  arms,  and  the  supplies 
for  the  presidio  and  mission.  The  distance  was  only 
eighty-five  miles  and  she  made  it  in  seventy-three  days. 
Entering  the  port  of  San  Francisco  August  i8th,  Quiros 
at  once  landed  his  men  and  the  work  of  erecting  the 
presidio  buildings  was  pushed  with  vigor. 

In  August  1779  the  San  Carlos,  under  command  of  Don 
Juan  Manuel  de  Ayala,  sailed  for  Manila  where  Ayala 
was  transferred  to  another  ship  and  returned  to  New 
Spain  in  1781. 

It  is  possible  that  the  San  Carlos  was  wrecked  in  the 
Philippines  or  she  may  have  been  broken  up,  and  another 
ship,  larger  and  better  equipped,  built  to  take  her  place, 
as  a  paquebot,  San  Carlos,  was  later  engaged  in  naval 
service  on  the  northwestern  coast  of  America.  The 
fact  that  this  San  Carlos  was  also  called  "El  Filipino," 
while  the  alias  of  the  original  packet  was  "El  Toison  de 
Oro,"  would  seem  to  indicate  that  the  San  Carlos  of  1788 
-1797  was  a  ship  built  in  the  Philippines.  In  view  of 
the  record  here  given  of  the  different  voyages  of  the 
original  San  Carlos,  viz.:  La  Paz  to  San  Diego,  no 
days;  San  Bias  to  Monterey,  loi  days;  Monterey  to  San 
Francisco  (1776)  73  days,  it  must  be  admitted  that 
she  was  ill-fitted  for  her  work.  She  was  small — of  the 
caravel  type — high  poop  and  low  waist — and  had  three 


282       The  Beginnings  of  San  Francisco 

masts,  two  with  square  sails  and  one  with  mizzen  as  well 
as  a  sprit  sail  on  bowsprit. 

The  packet  San  Carlos  alias  El  Filipino  was  lost  in 
San  Francisco  bay  March  31,  1797. 

[Fray  Zepherin  Englehardt,  in  his  book  just  out  {Mis- 
sions and  Missionaries  of  California)  says  that  the  San 
Carlos,  a  vessel  built  in  the  Philippines,  arrived  thence, 
at  San  Diego,  December  9,  1781,  under  command  of  Juan 
Gonzales.1 


Notes  283 

Note  7 
ARIZONA 

Anza  writing  January  13,  1775,  says:  "This  place 
(Arizona)  is  famous  for  the  balls  of  virgin  silver  found 
in  1736  which  weighed  up  to  one  hundred  and  fifty  arrobas 
(3750  lbs.)  The  fact  has  been  doubted  but  it  is  certain, 
and  many  are  living  of  those  who  possessed  them  and  I 
can  equally  give  documents  which  accredit  it;  since  my 
father,  acting  by  advice  of  persons  learned  in  the  law, 
attached  them  because  it  appeared  to  him  they  belonged 
to  his  majesty,  and  while  his  action  was  not  entirely 
approved  by  the  tribunal  at  the  city  of  Mexico,  it  was  by 
the  royal  council  of  Castile." 

Arizona,  or  as  it  was  sometimes  written  Arizonac  was 
a  real  de  minus,  (mining  camp),  in  the  Arizona  mountains 
on  the  head  waters  of  the  Rio  del  Altar  just  below  the 
boundary  line  of  Arizona,  to  which  territory  it  gave  its 
name,  about  ten  or  twelve  miles  east  of  Nogales.  The 
mines  were  called  Las  Bolas  de  Plata — ^The  Balls  of 
Silver.  The  discovery  of  these  wonderful  deposits 
created  great  excitement  and  brought  a  crowd  of  treasure 
seekers  into  the  district.  Captain  Juan  Bautista  de 
Anza,  father  of  the  explorer,  who  was  in  command  of 
the  presidio  of  Fronteras  and  acted  as  judge  and  recorder 
of  the  district,  claimed  that  the  deposits  did  not  con- 
stitute a  mine  proper  but  were  hidden  treasure  or  a 
criadero  de  plata — growing  place  of  silver — and  as  such 
were  not  subject  to  denouncement,  but  belonged  to  the 
king.  In  this  he  was  sustained  by  royal  decree  of  May 
28,  1741,  but  by  that  time  the  deposits  were  about 
exhausted  and  the  Apaches  had  driven  the  miners  out. 
The  bolas,  which  were  of  almost  pure  silver,  weighed 
from  twelve  pounds  to  a  ton  and  a  half. 


284       The  Beginnings  of  San  Francisco 

Note  8 
EUSEBIO  FRANCISCO  KINO 

Padre  Jose  Ortega  of  the  Company  of  Jesus  has  given  us 
in  his  Breve  Elogio  del  Padre  Kino,  a  fairly  comprehensive 
account  of  the  life  and  adventures  of  the  famous  explorer 
and  missionary,  Padre  Eusebio  Francisco  Kino.  In 
addition  to  this  we  have  the  diary  of  Lieutenant  Mange, 
his  escort  from  1694  to  1701. 

Eusebio  Kino  or  Kuhne  was  born  in  Trent  in  the 
Austrian  Tyrol  about  1640  and  educated  at  Ala  in  Tyrol. 
Recovering  from  a  serious  illness  through  the  intercession 
of  San  Francisco  Xavier,  patron  of  the  Indies,  he  adopted 
that  saint's  name,  incorporating  it  with  his  own,  and 
declining  the  offer  of  a  professorship  of  mathematics  in 
the  college  of  Ingolstadt  in  Bavaria,  devoted  his  life 
to  the  conversion  of  the  American  Indians.  He  came 
to  Mexico  in  1680  or  1681  and  for  thirty  years  labored 
among  the  Indians  of  the  Pimeria,  the  Papagueria,  the 
Gila,  and  the  Colorado.  Commencing  his  missionary 
work  in  Sonora  in  1687,  Kino  established  a  number  of 
missions  in  Pimeria.  In  1690  he  made  his  first  entrance 
into  what  is  now  Arizona,  and  in  1694  followed  down  the 
Rio  Altar  to  the  Gulf  of  California.  In  1694,  Domingo 
Crusati,  commanding  in  Sonora,  appointed  his  nephew, 
Juan  Mateo  Mange,  a  lieutenant  in  the  compania  volante 
of  Sonora,  a  guard  to  accompany  the  padre  and  write 
official  reports  of  all  his  discoveries.  In  November 
1694,  Kino  reached  the  Gila  and  said  mass  in  the  Casa 
Grande.  In  the  autumn  of  1698  Kino  was  requested 
by  the  viceroy  to  make  a  reconnaissance  of  northern 
Pimeria  and  Papagueria  with  a  view  of  ascertaining  if 
supplies  could  be  sent  from  that  quarter  to  Padre  Juan 


Notes  285 

Maria  Salvatierra  then  operating  in  the  peninsula  of 
Baja  California.  Kino  went  to  the  Gila  via  San  Javier 
del  Bac,  proceeded  down  the  river  some  distance  and  then 
struck  off  to  the  southwest  towards  the  gulf.  From  the 
Cerro  Santa  Clara  (Gila  range)  he  saw  how  the  gulf 
ended  at  the  disemboguement  of  the  Rio  Colorado. 
From  here  he  returned  via  the  Camino  del  Diablo,  thence 
to  Caborca.  On  the  7th  of  February  1699,  Kino  started 
from  the  mission  of  Dolores  on  the  western  fork  of  the 
Sonora  river  and  traveled  in  a  westerly  direction  to  San 
Marcelo  de  Sonoita;  thence  by  way  of  the  Camino  del 
Diablo  to  the  Gila,  and  returned  via  the  Gila  and  Santa 
Cruz  rivers  to  his  mission — virtually  Anza's  route  of  1774 
across  the  Papagueria.  In  1700  he  started  in  September 
for  the  Gila  via  the  Santa  Cruz  valley,  journeyed  down 
the  Gila  to  its  confluence  with  the  Colorado,  and  returned 
over  the  Camino  del  Diablo  to  Sonoita,  to  San  Luis  de 
Bacapa,  San  Eduardo,  Caborca,  Tabutama,  and  San 
Ignacio:  Anza's  route  of  1775-6.  Kino's  map,  dated 
1702,  has  often  been  republished,  and  Anza  probably 
had  a  copy  of  it.  He  refers  to  Kino,  whom  he  called 
Quino,  and  also  to  the  diary  of  Lieutenant  Mange, 
corrects  their  latitude  and  says  he  cannot  find  the  Sierra 
Azul  and  the  Rio  Amarillo  mentioned  by  Mange.  Kino 
made  his  last  journey  over  the  Camino  del  Diablo  to 
Las  Tinajas  Altas  in  November  1706,  and  climbing  to 
the  heights  of  the  Cerro  de  Santa  Clara  gazed  for  the  last 
time  upon  the  waters  of  the  gulf  and  the  continent  of 
the  Californlas,  and  then  returned  to  his  cell  In  the  mission 
of  Nuestra  Senora  de  los  Dolores.  The  work  of  the  great 
missionary  was  done,  though  he  continued  to  labor  with 
tongue  and  pen  until  his  death  in  1710  or  171 1,  at  seventy 
years  of  age,  twenty-four  of  which  were  in  the  Pimeria. 


286       The  Beginnings  of  San  Francisco 

Note  9 
LAS  TINAJAS  ALTAS 

The  second,  third,  and  fourth  tanks  may  be  reached 
by  cHmbing  the  steep  water-worn  rocks  on  the  left  of  the 
gorge,  but  the  upper  ones  can  only  be  reached  by  ascending 
to  a  height  of  several  hundred  feet  the  steep  ravine  on 
the  right  of  the  gorge  and  being  lowered  by  ropes  from 
above.  The  United  States  and  Mexican  Boundary 
Survey  commission  of  1891-96  replenished  the  water  in 
the  lower  tank  by  siphoning  from  those  above  by  means 
of  a  length  of  garden  hose.  Water  can  usually  be  found 
at  all  times  in  some  of  these  tanks  as  there  is  no  loss  from 
seepage,  and  as  the  steep  rock  surrounds  and  overhangs 
the  tanks  and  greatly  retards  evaporation,  to  what  extent 
is  shown  by  the  fact  that  on  reconnaissance  by  the 
commission  from  Yuma  to  Quitobaquita  in  the  winter  of 
1893,  these  tanks  were  found  nearly  half  full,  although  the 
rainfall  at  Yuma  for  the  preceding  twelve  months  had 
aggregated  less  than  three-fourths  of  an  inch,  a  remarkable 
deficiency  even  for  that  dry  section. 

Yet  even  here  the  Camino  del  Diablo  claimed  its 
victims.  Captain  Gaillard  of  the  commission  states  that 
during  the  gold  immigration  of  1849  some  of  the  pilgrims 
reached  the  tanks  to  find  the  water  all  gone,  and  too  weak 
to  go  further,  lay  down  and  died;  others  reached  the  place 
in  such  a  state  of  exhaustion  that,  unless  water  was  found 
in  the  lower  tank  they  were  too  feeble  to  climb  to  the  next 
and  perished  miserably,  their  horrors  aggravated  by  the 
thought  that  the  water,  for  want  of  which  they  were 
dying,  was  but  a  few  yards  off  had  they  but  the  strength 
to  reach  it.     Fifty  graves   near  the  foot  of  the  tanks. 


.\ 


LAS  TINAJAS  ALTAS— ONE  OF  THE  UPPER  TANKS 

Note  the  overhanging  walls. 

Photograph  by  Captain  D.  D.  Gaillard. 


LAS  TINAJAS  ALTAS— THE  LOWER  TANK 

Photograph  by  Captain  D.  D.  Gaillard  of  the  Boundary 

Commission. 


.  •i:.GlNNINO>  ;' RANCISC- 

Note  9 
LAS  TINAJAS  ALTAS 

The  second,  third,  and  fourth  tanks  may  be 
by  climbing  the  steep  water-worn  rocks  on  the  lel.^  .  ^  o 
gorge,  but  the  upper  ones  can  only  be  reached  by  ascending 
to  a  height  of  several  hundred  feet  the  steep  ravine  on 
the  right  of  the  gorge  and  being  lowered  by  ropes  from 
above.  The  United  States  and  Mexican  Boundary 
Survey  commission  of  1891-96  replenished  the  water  in 
the  lower  tank  by  siphoning  from  those  above  by  means 
of  a  length  of  garden  hose.  Water  can  usually  be  found 
at  ^\\mimmWe^^'^:'^0^^9itlWfhmWU^ss  from 
seepage,  and  as  tne  srcdj  i-^ck  surrounds„and  overhangs 
the  tanks  anagreaTIy  r-etarcTs^  evaporation,  to  what  extent 
is   shown  ^^t^g^j^jl^a^^^^r^y^P^^i^^jice   by 


1893,  these  tanks  were  laySwniih&Srly  halt  mil,  aitn 
rainfall  at  Yuma  for  the  preceding  twelve  months 
-^'-"^-ited  less  than  three-fourths  of  an  inch,  a  remarks.  «. 

;cy  even  for  that  dry  section. 
Yet   even   here   the   Camino   del   Diablo   claimed   its 
victims.     Captain  Gaillard  of  the  commission  states  that 
during  the  gold  immigration  of  1849  some  of  the  pilgrims 
reached  the  tanks  to  find  the  water  all  gone,  and  too  v.- 
to  go  further,  lay  down  and  died;  others  reached  t^" 
in  such  a  state  of  exhaustion  that,  unless  water  w. 
in  the  lower  tank  they  were  too  feeble  to  c' 
and  perished  miserably,  their  horrors  agi 
thought  that  the  water,  for  want  of  v. 
dying,  was  but  a  few  yards  off  had  th 
...   .. — I,    ;»      Fifty  graves  near  t^^- 


■\ 


Notes  287 

marked  by  rough  stones  piled  In  the  form  of  a  cross, 
testify  to  the  numbers  of  these  victims.* 

At  the  TInajas  Altas  Anza  tells  us  a  wonderful  story 
of  the  mountain  sheep  and  their  horns.  The  Boundary 
commission  notes  the  quantity  of  these  horns  near  the 
TInajas  Altas  and  the  Cabaza  Prieta  and  says:  "Many 
years  ago  the  Papagos  were  accustomed  to  camp  at  these 
tinajas  for  the  purpose  of  hunting  big  horns  or  mountain 
sheep  which  then,  as  now,  constituted  the  principal 
inhabitants  of  these  desolate  sierras.  In  the  vicinity 
of  the  tanks  are  still  seen  the  remains  of  their  old  camps, 
around  which  are  strewn  the  horns  of  the  mountain 
sheep,  as  many  as  twenty  or  thirty  pairs  having  been 
counted  at  a  single  camp."  The  horns  however  were 
there  for  a  purpose,  and  Anza  explains  it  to  us,  but  in 
terms  so  extraordinary  as  to  be  unintelligible  to  me  until, 
after  much  investigation,  I  succeeded,  with  the  aid  of 
Mr.  F.  W.  Hodge  of  the  Bureau  of  American  Ethnology, 
in  getting  light  upon  the  matter.  It  appears  that  there 
was  an  ancient  superstition  among  the  Pimas  and  Papagos 
that  the  horns  of  the  mountain  sheep  exerted  an  Influence 
on  the  air  and  the  rains.  They  never  brought  the  horns 
home  but  piled  them  In  some  place  In  the  hills  near  the 
aguages  where  they  held  In  check  the  evil  Influences 
of  the  elements,  and  no  one  was  permitted  to  disturb 
or  remove  them. 


*Gaillard:     Perils  and  Wonders  of  a  True  Desert. 


288       The  Beginnings  of  San  Francisco 

Note  id 
CAPTAIN  FEO 

The  principal  in  the  move  to  oppose  the  passage  of  the 
river  by  the  Spaniards  was  the  chief  of  a  tribe,  kindred 
with  the  Yumas  and  subject  to  them,  to  whom  the 
Spaniards  gave  the  name  of  Captain  Feo  on  account  of 
his  ugly  {jeo)  looks.  The  men  under  Captain  Feo's 
command  were  about  as  numerous  as  those  under  Palma. 
He  is  described  as  a  great  preacher,  with  a  thick  voice, 
given  to  long  harangues,  and  was  suspected  also  of  being 
a  sorcerer.  He  set  himself  to  count  the  Spaniards  and 
seeing  there  were  but  few  of  them  told  his  people  that  it 
would  not  be  difficult  to  kill  them  and  take  their  horses 
and  property.  Anza  sent  him  warning  that  if  he  began 
hostilities  against  the  Spaniards  they  would  bring  suffi- 
cient force  against  him  to  destroy  him. 


\ 


Notes  289 

Note  12 
THE  ROYAL  PASS  OF  SAN  CARLOS 

Desde  esta  sitio  se  comienza  a  atravesar  la  Cordillera  que 
forma  la  Peninsula  de  la  California.  "From  this  place 
one  must  begin  to  cross  the  cordillera  that  forms  the 
peninsula  of  California,"  writes  Anza  December  19th, 
from  the  paraje  of  San  Gregorio  at  the  entrance  to  the 
Coyote  canon. 

I  am  sorry  I  cannot  agree  with  the  historians  who  have 
so  well  told  the  story  of  this  remarkable  journey  and  take 
this  expedition  through  the  Coahuila  valley  and  over 
the  San  Gorgonio  pass;  but  to  do  so  I  would  have  to  turn 
them  in  a  different  direction  from  that  in  which  they 
said  they  traveled  and  make  them  march  eighty  odd 
miles  through  the  desert  sands  to  reach  the  San  Gorgonio 
pass  when  they  say  they  only  traveled  forty-eight  miles 
up  a  mountain  trail  to  the  pass  of  San  Carlos.  No  one 
who  reads  Anza's  diary  with  a  map  of  the  country  before 
him  would  say  he  went  through  the  San  Gorgonio  pass. 
The  Cienega  de  San  Sebastian  is  on  or  very  close  to  the 
Ii6th  meridian  and  the  eastern  entrance  to  San  Gorgonio 
is  about  116°  40',  and  is  therefore  a  little  west  of  north, 
eighty  miles  away,  with  but  scanty  water  supply  before 
reaching  Palm  spring,  sixty-five  miles  distant.  Anza's 
record  of  direction  and  length  of  march  is  explicit  and 
Font's  practically  agrees  with  it.     I  give  the  two. 


ANZA 

FONT 

To  Puenticitos 

W.  by  VV.N.W. 

3HI 

W.  J4  N.W. 

4I 

"   S.  Gregorio 

u               u 

4 

u                 « 

5 

"  Vado  de  S.  Caterina 

W.  N.  W. 

4 

NW.  XW. 

4 

"  Fuente  S.  Caterina 

N.W.  &  W.N.W. 

iK 

«          « 

I 

"   Los  Danzantes 

N.W.  by  W.N.W. 

3 

W.  N.  W. 

4 

*  San  Carlos  pass 

W.N.W.  &  N.W. 
six  jornadas 

2y2 

W.  N.  W. 

3 

18K1 

21I 

290       The  Beginnings  of  San  Francisco 

I  would  say  that  Anza  was  more  accurate  In  his  estimate 
of  distances  traveled  than  Font  and  had,  besides,  been 
over  this  route  twice  before.  He  gives  the  distance 
traveled  from  San  Sebastian  to  San  Carlos  183^  leagues 
— say  forty-eight  miles.  By  turning  Into  the  mountains 
as  he  did  he  soon  reached  water  and  grass.  I  have 
measured  him  up  and  have  measured  him  down  on  each 
of  his  journeys  and  have  done  the  same  with  Pedro  Font 
on  his  journey.  Anza  writes  on  May  7th  at  San  Sebastian 
(on  his  return  trip;  present  expedition),  "At  this  place 
we  left  the  caiiada  In  which  we  have  been  traveling  from 
San  Carlos  to  here;"  showing  that  between  the  pass  of 
San  Carlos  and  the  Cienega  de  San  Sebastian  he  traveled 
through  a  Canada  (valley  or  caiion).  Pedro  Font  writing 
from  Fuente  del  Santa  Caterlna  (fourth  Jornada  from 
San  Sebastian)  December  23d,  says:  "This  stopping 
place  is  in  a  canada  which  continues  upward  and  through 
which  the  road  goes  crossing  the  Sierra  Madre  de  Callfor- 
nia. 

I  make  this  particular  explanation  because  the  mistake 
made  by  Bancroft  has  been  copied  by  other  writers  and 
the  San  Gorgonio  pass  is  called  the  "Historic  Gateway 
to  California." 


I 


Notes  291 

Note  12 
SOLDIERS  OF  THE  EXPEDITION 

As  the  soldiers  of  Anza's  expedition  were  the  founders 
and  first  settlers  of  the  city  of  San  Francisco,  it  becomes 
a  matter  of  historical  importance  to  know  who  and  what 
they  were.  They  left  their  imprint  on  the  civilization 
of  California  and  their  names  are  as  familiar  as  household 
words  to  all  who  know  the  country.  The  list  is  now 
given  for  the  first  time  and  the  particulars  concerning 
the  families  were  taken  from  the  Spanish  archives  of 
California,  destroyed  by  the  fire  of  1906.  In  giving  the 
members  of  the  families  I  only  enumerate  the  children 
accompanying  the  expedition.  Many  more  were  born 
in  California. 

I.  Ensign  Jose  Joaquin  Moraga  was  born  in  1741; 
died  in  San  Francisco  and  was  buried  July  15,  1785, 
in  the  mission  church  whose  corner  stone  he  laid  in  1782. 
Moraga  was  an  able  assistant  to  Anza  and  received  his 
commission  as  lieutenant  on  the  arrival  of  the  expedition 
at  San  Gabriel.  He  accompanied  his  commander  on  the 
survey  of  the  peninsula  and  river  of  San  Francisco,  and 
on  Anza's  departure  for  Mexico,  took  command  of  the 
expedition.  He  founded  the  presidio  and  mission  of 
San  Francisco  and  was  the  first  commander,  retaining 
the  position  until  his  death  nine  years  later.  He  founded 
the  mission  of  Santa  Clara  in  1777,  and  in  the  same  year 
the  pueblo  of  San  Jose  Guadalupe  (San  Jose).  His 
record  as  an  officer  is  an  honorable  and  stainless  one. 
His  wife  was  Maria  del  Pilar  de  Leon  y  Barcelo.  She 
did  not  accompany  the  expedition,  being  sick  in  Terrenate 
at  the  time,  but  with  her  son  Gabriel,  joined  her  husband 
n    San   Francisco   February   20,    1791,    the   government 


292       The  Beginnings  of  San  Francisco 

paying  the  cost  of  transportation:  three  hundred  and 
eighty  dollars  and  twenty-five  cents.  The  only  child 
of  Moraga  I  find  any  record  of  was  his  son  Gabriel, 
born  at  the  presidio  of  Fronteras,  Sonora,  in  1765;  buried 
in  Santa  Barbara,  California,  June  15,  1823;  married, 
first,  Ana  Maria,  daughter  of  Juan  Francisco  Bernal; 
second,  Joaquina,  daughter  of  Francisco  Javier  Alvarado, 
and  sister  of  Pio  Pico's  wife.  Don  Gabriel  enlisted  in 
the  San  Francisco  company  December  i,  1783,  and 
served  for  twenty-two  years  as  private,  corporal,  and 
sergeant,  at  the  presidios  of  San  Francisco  and  Monterey 
and  in  command  of  various  mission  escoltas  of  those  dis- 
tricts. On  March  10,  1806,  he  received  his  commission 
as  alferez  and  was  assigned  to  the  San  Francisco  garrison. 
On  August  16,  181 1,  he  was  made  brevet  lieutenant  for 
gallantry  in  a  battle  with  the  Indians  on  the  strait  of 
Carquines,  and  on  October  30,  1817,  he  was  made  a  full 
lieutenant  and  ordered  to  Santa  Barbara.  His  hoja  de 
servicios  of  December  1820,  shows  thirty-seven  years 
service  and  forty-six  expeditions  against  the  Indians. 
He  applied  for  retirement  on  account  of  chronic  rheu- 
matism and  other  infirmities,  and  Governor  Sola,  Captain 
Jose  Dario  Arguello,  and  other  officers,  as  well  as  padres 
Senan  and  Payeras,  testified  in  terms  of  highest  praise 
regarding  his  character  and  the  value  of  his  services, 
but  no  attention  was  paid  to  his  request.  In  1806 
Moraga  explored  and  named  the  San  Joaquin  river  and  he 
made  a  number  of  expeditions  to  and  beyond  the  Tulares. 
Don  Gabriel  is  described  as  a  tall,  well  built  man  of  dark 
complexion,  brave,  gentlemanly,  and  the  foremost  soldier 
of  his  day  in  California.  His  son  Joaquin,  was  grantee  of 
Rancho  Laguna  de  los  Palos  Colorados  in  Contra  Costa 
county,  and  a  portion  of  Moraga  valley  on  said  rancho 
is  still  in  possession  of  his  descendants.  Another  son, 
Vicente,  was  grantee  of  Pauba  in  Riverside  county. 


Notes  293 

2.  Sergeant  Juan  Pablo  Grijalva  was  born  in  La  Valle 
de  San  Luis,  Sonora,  in  1742;  died  in  San  Diego,  Cali- 
fornia, June  21,  1806.  He  enlisted  in  the  presidial 
company  of  Terrenate,  Sonora,  January  i,  1763,  and 
served  twenty-four  years  in  the  ranks  before  he  received 
a  commission — eleven  of  them  at  the  presidio  of  San 
Francisco.  On  the  20th  of  July  1787,  he  was  commis- 
sioned alferez  and  attached  to  the  San  Diego  company. 
In  1796  he  applied  for  retirement  on  account  of  infirmities 
contracted  during  his  long  services.  Governor  Borica 
endorsed  his  application,  recommending  that  he  be 
retired  with  the  rank  of  lieutenant  as  a  reward  for  his 
services  to  the  king.  He  was  retired  as  alferez  with  half 
pay — two  hundred  dollars  a  year.  The  following  Novem- 
ber he  was  made  lieutenant,  his  pension  remaining  the 
same.  Grijalva  brought  with  him  In  the  expedition  his 
wife,  Maria  Dolores  Valencia,  and  three  children:  Maria 
Josefa,  age  nine;  Maria  del  Carmen,  age  four;  and  Claudio, 
a  baby.  Josefa  married  Sergeant  Antonio  Yorba,  who 
came  with  Portola  in  1769  as  sergeant  of  Catalan  vol- 
unteers. She  became  the  mother  of  one  of  California's 
great  families,  grantees  of  Santa  Ana  de  Santiago,  Las 
Bolsas,  and  Lomas  de  Santiago.  Carmen  married  Pedro 
Regalado  Peralta,  son  of  Gabriel.  Of  Claudio  I  know 
nothing.     The  name  of  Grijalva  died  out  in  California. 

3,  Corporal  Domingo  Alviso  lived  but  a  short  time 
after  reaching  San  Francisco.  He  was  buried  March  11, 
1777,  and  the  libro  de  difuntos  gives  neither  age  nor  place 
of  birth.  With  him  came  his  wife,  Maria  Angela  Trejo, 
and  four  children:  Francisco  Javier,  age  ten;  Francisco, 
age  nine;  Maria  Loreta,  age  five;  and  Ignacio,  age  three. 
The  family  became  a  large  and  influential  one  and  were 
grantees   of  Natividad,   Canada  Verde  y  Arroyo  de  la 


294       The  Beginnings  of  San  Francisco 

Purisima,  Milpitas,  Potrero  de  los  Cerritos,  El  Quito, 
Canada  de  los  Vaqueros,  and  Rincon  de  los  Esteros. 
The  town  of  Alviso  was  named  for  Ignacio. 

4.  Corporal  Jose  Valerlo  Mesa  was  born  in  1734  in 
Opodepe,  a  mission  on  the  Horcasitas  river  a  little  above 
San  Miguel  in  Sonora.  His  wife,  Maria  Leonor  Barboa, 
and  six  children,  born  at  the  presidio  of  Altar,  accompanied 
him  to  California.  They  were:  Jose  Joaquin,  age 
twelve;  Jose  Ignacio,  age  nine;  Ignacio  Dolores,  age  eight; 
Maria  Manuela,  age  seven;  Jose  Antonio,  and  Juan, 
age  three.  Valerio's  grandson,  Juan  Prado,  son  of 
Jose  Antonio,  became  an  ensign  and  comandante  of  San 
Francisco  under  Vallejo.  This  family  received  the 
following  grants:  San  Antonio  (Santa  Clara  county), 
Los  Medanos,  Rinconada  del  Arroyo  de  San  Francisquito, 
and  Soulajule. 

5.  Corporal  Gabriel  Peralta  was  born  at  the  presidio 
of  Terrenate,  in  Sonora,  in  173 1;  died  in  Santa  Clara, 
California,  October  22,  1807.  His  wife,  Francisca  Javier 
Valenzuela,  and  four  children:  Juan  Jose,  age  eighteen; 
Luis  Maria,  age  seventeen;  Pedro  Regalado,  age  eleven; 
and  Maria  Gertrudis,  age  nine,  accompanied  the  expedi- 
tion. Luis  Maria  enlisted  in  the  Monterey  company 
December  2,  1781,  and  served  in  the  ranks  for  forty-five 
years.  He  was  eight  years  a  private,  twelve  years  a 
corporal,  and  twenty-five  years  a  sergeant.  He  was  a 
soldier,  engaged  in  many  expeditions  against  the  Indians, 
and  was  several  times  recommended  for  promotion  to  the 
commission  grade  of  alferez,  but  never  received  it.  He 
was  retired  invalido  in  1826,  and  died  in  San  Jose  in  1851, 
aged  ninety-three. 

On  June  20,  1820,  Don  Pablo  Vicente  de  Sola,  governor 
of  California,  granted  to  Sergeant  Luis  Peralta  the  San 
Antonio    rancho,    eleven    square    leagues — 48,825    acres, 


Notes  295 

perhaps  the  most  famous  as  well  as  the  most  valuable 
of  all  the  California  grants.  It  includes  the  sites  of  the 
cities  of  Oakland,  Alameda,  and  Berkeley.  The  Rin- 
conada  de  los  Gatos,  the  Canada  del  Corte  Madera,  and 
the  San  Ramon  ranches  were  also  given  to  the  descend- 
ants of  Corporal  Peralta. 

6.  Juan  Antonio  Amezquita  was  born  in  Metape, 
Sonora,  in  1739.  He  enlisted  at  the  presidio  of  Tubac 
July  9,  1764,  and  was  retired  invalido  November  i,  1788. 
On  October  i,  1786,  he  was  transferred  to  Monterey 
where  in  1813  he  was  living  with  his  third  wife,  Maria 
Micaela  Sotelo.  Juan  Antonio's  wife,  Juana  Maria  de 
Guana,  and  five  children:  Manuel  Domingo,  age  twenty- 
three;  Maria  Josef  a,  age  twenty;  Maria  Dolores,  age  ten; 
Maria  Gertrudis,  age  about  three;  and  Maria  de  los  Reyes, 
a  babe,  came  with  the  expedition.  With  this  family 
was  Rosalia  Zamora,  wife  of  the  oldest  son,  Manuel 
Domingo — who  was  also  called  Salvador  Manuel  and 
Manuel  Francisco.  Maria  Josefa  became  the  wife  of 
Ensign  He  menegildo  Sal. 

7.  Jose  Ramon  Bojorques,  born  in  the  city  of  Sinaloa 
in  1737,  brought  with  him  his  wife,  Francisca  Romero, 
and  three  children:  Maria  Antonia,  age  fifteen,  wife 
of  Jose  Tiburcio  Vasquez;  Maria  Micaela,  age  thirteen; 
and  Maria  Gertrudis,  age  twelve.  With  the  family 
was  the  husband  of  Maria  Micaela,  Jose  Anastacio 
Higuera. 

8.  Justo  Roberto  Altamirano  was  born  in  Aguage, 
Sonora,  in  1745.  He  brought  with  him  his  wife,  Maria 
Loreta  Delfin,  and  two  sons:  Jose  Antonio  and  Jose 
Matias.     Matias  died  in  1783,  and  Jose  Antonio  in  1789. 


296       The  Beginnings  of  San  Francisco 

Justo  Roberto  had  a  number  of  children  born  in  San 
Francisco  and  Santa  Clara,  but  the  name  has  died  out 
in  California. 

9.  Ignacio  Linares  was  born  in  San  Miguel  de  Hor- 
casitas  in  1745;  died  in  San  Jose  Guadalupe,  California, 
June  5,  1805.  His  wife,  Maria  Gertrudis  Rivas,  and 
four  children:  Maria  Gertrudis,  age  seven;  Juan  Jose 
Ramon,  age  five;  Maria  Juliana,  age  four;  and  Salvador, 
age  one;  came  with  the  expedition. 

10.  Carlos  Gallegos  brought  his  wife,  Maria  Josefa 
Espinosa,  but  no  children.  I  know  nothing  about  him 
except  that  he  was  sent  to  the  mission  of  the  Colorado 
and  was  killed  by  the  Yumas  in  the  rising  of  1781. 

The  above  ten  constitute  the  veteran  soldiers  of  the 
Sonora  presidios  who  volunteered  to  cast  their  lot  in 
California.     The  recruits  were: 

11.  Juan  Salvio  Pacheco  lived  but  a  short  time  in 
California.  I  do  not  know  the  date  or  place  of  his  birth. 
He  died  before  July  21,  1777,  but  the  family  he  founded 
became  a  large  one.  He  brought  with  him  to  California 
his  wife,  Maria  del  Carmen  del  Valle,  and  five  children: 
Miguel,  age  twenty;  Ignacio,  age  fifteen;  Ignacia  Ger- 
trudis, age  fifteen;  Bartolome  Ignacio,  age  ten;  and  Maria 
Barbara,  age  ten.  Juan  Salvio's  descendants  were  gran- 
tees of  Potrero  de  los  Cerritos,  Arroyo  de  las  Nueces, 
Santa  Rita,  San  Jose  Rancho,  San  Ramon,  Monte  del 
Diablo,  and  Positos  ranchos.  The  towns  of  Pacheco  in 
Contra  Costa  and  Pacheco  in  Marin  counties  are  named 
for  this  family. 

12.  Jose  Antonio  Garcia  was  born  in  Culiacan,  Sonora, 
and  died  in  Santa  Clara,  California,  January  25,  1778, 
the  first  death  recorded  {gente  de  razon)  on  the  books 
of  that  mission.     His  wife,  Maria  Josefa  de  Acuna,  and 


Notes  297 

five  children:  Maria  Graclana,  Maria  Josefa,  Jose 
Vicente,  Jose  Francisco,  and  Juan  Guillermo,  accom- 
panied the  expedition. 

13.  Pablo  Pinto  was  born  in  the  city  of  Sinaloa  in 
1732;  buried  in  San  Francisco  December  I,  1783.  He 
brought  with  him  his  wife,  Francisca  Javier  Ruelas, 
and  four  children:  Juan  Maria,  age  seventeen;  Juana 
Santos,  Juana  Francisca,  and  Jose  Marcelo.  The  husband 
of  Juana  Santos,  Casimiro  Varela,  accompanied  the 
family.  Another  daughter  of  Pablo  Pinto  was  with  the 
expedition — ^Teresa,  wife  of  the  poblador,  Nicolas  Galindo. 
The  marriage  of  Juana  Francisca  to  Mariano  Cordero, 
a  soldier  of  the  Monterey  garrison,  November  28,  1776, 
is  the  first  marriage  recorded  in  the  libro  de  casamientos 
of  San  Francisco. 

14.  Antonio  Quiterio  Aceves  was  born  in  La  Valle  de 
San  Bartolome,  Durango,  in  1740.  He  brought  with 
him  his  wife,  Maria  Feliciana  Cortes,  and  six  children: 
Maria  Petra,  age  thirteen;  Jose  Cipriano,  age  eleven; 
Maria  Gertrudis,  age  six;  Juan  Gregorio,  age  five;  Pablo, 
age  three;  and  Jose  Antonio,  age  two.  Aceves  was 
granted  the  Salinas  rancho,  four  leagues  on  the  Salinas 
river,  in  1795,  one  of  the  earliest  grants. 

15.  Ignacio  Maria  Gutierrez,  brought  his  wife.  Ana 
Maria  de  Osuna,  and  three  children:  Maria  Petronia, 
age  ten;  Maria  de  Los  Santos,  age  seven;  and  Diego 
Pascual,  born  on  the  Gila,  en  route. 

16.  Ignacio  de  Soto,  was  born  in  the  city  of  Sinaloa 
in  1749,  and  died  in  Santa  Clara,  California,  February  23, 
1807.  His  wife,  Maria  Barbara  Espinosa  de  Lugo,  was 
a  sister  of  the  soldier  Francisco  de  Lugo,  whose  daughter, 
Maria  Antonia,  became  the  mother  of  General  Vallejo. 
She,  with  two  children:     Maria  Antonia,  age  two;  and 


298       The  Beginnings  of  San  Francisco 

Jose  Antonio,  age  one,  accompanied  her  husband.  The 
first  white  child  born  in  San  Francisco  was  Francisco 
Jose  de  los  Dolores  Soto,  son  of  Ignacio  and  Barbara, 
born  August  10,  1776.  The  child  was  hastily  baptized 
ab  instantem  mortem,  but  he  lived  to  become  a  great 
Indian  fighter  and  died  in  1835,  a  sargento  distinguido. 
I  have  a  record  of  fourteen  children  born  in  California 
to  Ignacio  and  Barbara  Lugo  de  Soto,  and  their  descend- 
ants were  grantees  of  the  following  ranchos:  Cafiada 
de  la  Segunda,  El  Piojo,  San  Matias,  San  Lorenzo, 
Cafiada  de  la  Carpinteria,  Caiiada  del  Hambre,  Capay, 
San  Vicente,  Los  Vallecitos,  and  Bolsa  Nueva. 

17.  Jose  Manuel  Valencia  was  born  in  Guadalupe, 
Zacatecas,  Mexico,  in  1749,  and  died  in  Santa  Clara, 
California,  in  1788.  His  wife,  Maria  de  la  Luz  Mufios, 
and  three  children  accompanied  him  to  California.  The 
children  were:  Maria  Gertrudis,  age  fifteen  years; 
Francisco  Maria,  age  eight;  and  Ignacio  Maria,  age  three. 
His  descendants  were  granted  Alcanes  rancho  and  Canada 
de  Pinole. 

18.  Luis  Joaquin  Alvarez  was  born  in  the  city  of  Sinaloa 
in  1740.  He  brought  with  him  his  wife,  Maria  Nicolosa 
Ortiz,  and  two  children:  Juan  Francisco  and  Maria 
Francisca. 

19.  Jose  Antonio  Sanchez  was  born  in  the  city  of 
Sinaloa  in  1751.  He  brought  his  wife,  Maria  de  los 
Dolores  Morales,  and  two  children:  Maria  Josefa,  age 
seven;  and  Jose  Antonio,  age  two;  also,  Ignacio  Cardenas, 
a  prohijado — adopted  son.  Sanchez  was  a  man  of  some 
education  and  wrote  a  beautiful  hand.  The  family 
became  prominent  in  San  Francisco  and  Jose  Antonio, 
second,  became  ensign  and  comandante  of  San  Francisco 
and  famous  for  his  skill  and  courage  as  an  Indian  fighter. 


Notes  299 

In  1827  he  was  permitted  to  occupy  the  rancho  nacional 
which  was  afterwards  formally  granted  him.  This  was 
the  great  Buri  Buri  rancho  immediately  south  of  the  city 
and  county  of  San  Francisco,  comprising  15,793  acres, 
now  belonging,  in  part,  to  the  Spring  Valley  Water 
Company.  In  1836  Jose  Antonio  2d  was  retired  with 
forty-five  years'  service  to  his  credit.  He  passed  the 
rest  of  his  life  on  his  rancho  and  at  the  mission  of  Dolores. 
He  appears  on  a  padron  of  San  Francisco  in  1842  as  an 
hacendado  (farmer).  He  was  a  brave  and  honest  man, 
and  somewhat  given  to  asserting  his  rights.  He  became 
involved  in  a  controversy  with  the  priests  over  the 
question  of  tithes,  which  Sanchez,  following  the  example 
of  Vallejo  and  other  prominent  landowners,  refused  to 
pay.  In  consequence  of  this  quarrel  he  was  denied  the 
comforts  of  religion  on  his  death  bed  and  for  a  time. 
Christian  burial.  He  died  June  22,  1843,  and  was  finally 
given  ecclesiastic  interment  in  the  cemetery  of  the  mission 
on  July  5th.  His  son,  Francisco,  grandson  of  Anza's 
trooper,  was  comandante  of  San  Francisco  at  the  time 
of  the  conquest  and  was  the  Captain  Sanchez  who  cap- 
tured Alcalde  Bartlett  and  commanded  the  Mexican 
forces  at  the  battle  of  Santa  Clara.  Francisco  was 
granted  the  San  Pablo  rancho. 

20.  Manuel  Ramirez  Arellano  was  born  in  Puebla  in 
1742  and  brought  with  him  his  wife,  Maria  Agueda  de 
Haro,  and  son,  Jose  Mariano,  He  was  retired  in  1786 
and  removed  to  Los  Angeles.  He  had  three  children 
born  in  Santa  Clara  and  three  more  born  in  Los  Angeles. 
The  family  was  quite  prominent  in  the  south  and  the 
name  became  changed  to  Arellanes.  Manuel  Ramirez 
was  alcalde  of  Los  Angeles  in  1790,  and  his  daughter, 
Maria  Martina  married  Don  Ignacio  Martinez,  later 
comandante  of  San  Francisco,  and  was  the  mother  of 


300       The  Beginnings  of  San  Francisco 

some  of  California's  famous  beauties.  Don  Teodoro 
Arellanes,  son  of  Manuel,  born  in  Santa  Clara,  November 
5,  1782,  is  mentioned  by  Davis,  Robinson,  and  other 
writers  as  a  ranchero  prince.  The  family  obtained  the 
Guadalupe,  El  Rincon,  and  La  Punta  de  la  Laguna 
ranchos. 

21.  Joaquin  Isidro  de  Castro  was  born  in  the  city  of 
Sinaloa  in  1732.  He  brought  with  him  his  wife,  Maria 
Martina  Botiller,  and  nine  children:  Ignacio  Clemente, 
age  twenty;  Maria  Josefa,  age  eighteen;  Maria  Encarna- 
nacion,  age  twelve;  Maria  del  Carmen,  age  ten;  Jose 
Mariano,  age  9;  Jose  Joaquin,  age  six;  Francisco  Maria, 
age  two;  Francisco  Antonio,  and  Carlos.  This  was  a 
very  large  family  and  became  connected  by  marriage  with 
most  of  the  prominent  families  of  California.  One 
granddaughter  married  Governor  Alvarado,  and  another 
married  Carlos  Antonio  Carrillo  and  became  mother  of 
five  beautiful  daughters,  all  of  whom  married  Americans. 
One  of  the  earliest  grants  of  land  in  California  was  made 
to  Joaquin  Isidro  who,  together  with  his  son-in-law, 
Mariano  Soberanes,  was  granted  Buena  Vista  on  the 
Salinas  river  in  1795.  In  1801  Castro  was  given  La  Brea. 
His  sons  and  grandsons  were  given  the  following  ranchos 
and  islands:  Aptos,  Del  Refugio,  El  Sobrante,  Laguna 
de  Teche,  Las  Llagas,  Las  Paicines,  Las  Animas,  San 
Andres,  San  Gregorio,  San  Lorenzo,  San  Pablo,  San 
Ramon,  Shoquel,  Solis,  Vega  del  Rio  del  Pajero,  Isla 
de  la  Yegua  (Mare  Island),  and  Isla  de  Yerba  Buena. 
The  Castros  of  Monterey  and  the  Castros  of  San  Fran- 
cisco call  each  other  cousin.  General  Jose  Castro  be- 
longed to  the  Monterey  family. 

22.  Felipe  Santiago  Tapia,  born  in  Culiacan  in  1745, 
brought  his  wife,  Juana  Maria  Filomena  Hernandes  (or 
Juana  Maria  Cardenas)  and  the  following  children:  Jose 


Notes  301 

Bartolome,  Juan  Jose,  Jose  Cristoval,  Jose  Francisco,  Jose 
Victor,  Maria  Rosa,  age  fifteen;  Maria  Antonia,  age 
thirteen;  Maria  Manuela,  age  ten;  and  Maria  Ysidora, 
age  four.  Jose  Bartolome,  who  settled  at  San  Luis 
Obispo  was  grantee  of  Topanga  Malibu  rancho  in  1804. 
His  son,  Tiburcio,  was  granted  Cucamonga  rancho. 

23.  Juan  Francisco  Bernal,  born  in  Rancho  del  Tule, 
in  the  district  of  Sinaloa,  in  1737,  brought  his  wife,  Maria 
Josefa  de  Soto,  sister  of  Ignacio,  and  seven  children: 
Jose  Joaquin,  age  thirteen;  Juan  Francisco,  age  twelve; 
Jose  Dionisio,  age  ten;  Jose  Apolonario,  age  nine;  Ana 
Maria,  age  five;  Maria  Teresa  de  Jesus,  age  three;  and 
Tomas  Januario.  This  family  received  the  following 
lands:  Rincon  de  las  Salinas  y  Potrero  Viejo  (South 
San  Francisco),  Rincon  de  Ballena,  Santa  Teresa,  Laguna 
de  Palos  Colorados,  Embarcadero  de  Santa  Clara,  El 
Alisal,  and  Canada  de  Pala.  Bernal  Heights,  San  Fran- 
cisco, is  a  part  of  Rincon  de  Salinas. 

24.  Juan  Atanasio  Vasquez,  born  in  Agualuico,  Sonora, 
in  1735,  brought  his  wife,  Maria  Gertrudis  Castelo,  and 
three  children:  Jose  Tiburcio,  age  twenty;  Jose  Antonio, 
age  ten;  and  Pedro  Jose.  This  family  received  Corral 
de  Tierra,  Chamisal,  and  Soulajule  ranchos. 

25.  Juan  Agustin  Valenzuela,  born  in  Real  de  los 
Alamos,  Sonora,  in  1749,  brought  his  wife,  Petra  Ignacio 
de  Ochoa,  and  one  child:     Maria  Zepherin. 

26.  Santiago  de  la  Cruz  Pico  was  born  in  San  Miguel 
de  Horcasitas  in  1733.  In  1777  he  was  transferred  from 
San  Francisco  to  the  San  Diego  presidio  and  founded  a 
large  family  in  the  south.  His  sons  all  enlisted  in  the 
presidial  companies,  as  did  the  sons  of  the  other  soldiers, 
and  one,  Jose  Dolores,  being  transferred  to  Monterey, 
founded  the  northern  branch  of  the  family.  Santiago 
brought  with  him  to  California  his  wife,  Maria  Jacinta 


302       The  Beginnings  of  San  Francisco 

Vastlda,  and  seven  children,  all  born  in  San  Javier  de 
Cabazan,  on  the  Rio  Piastla,  Sonora.  The  children 
were:  Jose  Dolores,  age  twelve;  Jose  Maria,  age  eleven; 
Jose  Miguel,  age  seven;  Francisco  Javier,  age  six;  Patricio, 
age  five;  Maria  Antonia  Tomasa,  and  Maria  Josefa. 
Jose  Maria,  son  of  Santiago,  was  the  father  of  Pio  Pico, 
the  last  Mexican  governor  of  California.  Andres,  another 
son  of  Jose  Maria  was,  perhaps,  the  ablest  member  of  the 
family  of  Pico.  He  was  in  command  of  the  Californians 
at  the  battle  of  San  Pascual  and  was  present  and  took 
part  in  the  engagements  at  the  San  Gabriel  river  and 
La  Mesa.  As  commander  of  the  national  forces  in  Cali- 
fornia he  signed  the  capitulation  of  Cahuenga,  January 
13,  1847,  which  ended  the  war.  He  was  member  of  the 
assembly  in  1851;  presidential  elector,  1852;  land  re- 
ceiver and  brigadier  general  of  militia,  1858;  and  state 
senator  1 860-1.  Antonio  Maria,  son  of  Dolores,  was 
lieutenant  of  militia,  captain  of  defensores,  member  of 
constitutional  convention,  presidential  elector  in  i860, 
and  register  of  the  land  office  at  Los  Angeles  in  1862. 
Another  son  of  Dolores,  Jose  de  Jesus,  was  captain  of 
defensores.  He  broke  his  parole  and  was  captured  and 
condemmed  to  death,  but  was  pardoned  by  Fremont 
whom  he  assisted  in  bringing  about  the  treaty  of  Cahu- 
enga. The  descendants  of  Santiago  de  la  Cruz  Pico  received 
the  following  grants:  Agua  Caliente,  Arroyo  Seco,  Bolsa 
de  San  Cayetano,  Piedra  Blanca,  El  Pescadero,  Jumal, 
La  Habra,  Los  Flores,  Moquelamo,  El  Paso  de  Bartolo 
Viejo,  Punto  del  Ano  Nuevo,  San  Jose  del  Gracia  de 
Simi,  Santa  Margarita,  Temecula,  Valle  de  San  Jose, 
and  Casa  Loma. 

27.  Jose  Vicente  Felix,  was  born  in  Real  de  los  Alamos, 
Sonora,  in  1741.  His  wife,  Manuela  Piiicuelar,  was  the 
woman  who  died  in  childbirth,  the  first  night  out  from 


Notes  303 

Tubac.  Seven  children  came  with  the  expedition:  Jose 
Francisco,  Jose  Doroteo,  Jose  de  Jesus,  Jose  Antonio 
Capistrano,  Maria  Loreta,  Maria  Antonia,  and  Maria 
Manuela,  Jose  Vicente  was  transferred  to  the  San 
Diego  company  before  1782  and  in  1802,  or  earlier,  was 
given  the  Felix  rancho  just  north  of  the  pueblo  of  Los 
Angeles — now  within  the  city  bounds. 

28.  Sebastian  Antonio  Lopez  brought  his  wife  Felipa 
Neri  (or  Felipa  Xermana)  and  three  children:  Sebastian, 
Maria  Tomasa,  and  Maria  Justa.  I  have  no  information 
about  this  family. 

29.  Jose  Antonio  Sotelo  died  in  San  Francisco  January 
20,  1777,  the  second  death  recorded  in  the  lihro  de  difuntos. 
The  name  of  his  wife  is  given  by  Pedro  Font  as  Gertrudis 
Peralta,  but  the  above  register  has  it  Manuela  Gertrudis 
Buelna.     They  brought  one  child:     Ramon. 

30.  Pedro  Antonio  Bojorques,  born  in  Sinaloa  in  1754, 
brought  his  wife,  Maria  Francisca  de  Lara,  and  daughter, 
Maria  Agustina,  age  four.  The  wife  died  January  28, 
1777,  the  third  death  in  San  Francisco,  and  Pedro  married 
the  widow  of  Corporal  Domingo  Alviso,  Maria  Angela 
Trejo,  on  the  20th  of  July  following.  His  son,  Bartolome, 
was  grantee  of  Laguna  de  San  Antonio,  six  leagues  in 
Marin  county. 

Accompanying  the  expedition  were  four  families  of 
settlers  (pobladores)  and  three  solteros  (bachelors).  The 
families  were: 

1.  Jose  Manuel  Gonzales,  with  his  wife,  Maria  Micaela 
Bojorques,  and  children:  Juan  Jose,  Ramon,  Francisco, 
and  Maria  Gregoria.  Jose  Manuel  was  made  a  poblador 
of  San  Jose  Guadalupe. 

2.  Nicolas  Galindo,  born  in  Real  de  Santa  Eulalia 
in  1743,  brought  with  him  his  wife,  Maria  Teresa  Pinto, 


304       The  Beginnings  of  San  Francisco 

daughter  of  Pablo,  and  one  child:  Juan  Venancio,  one 
year  old.  Nicolas  enlisted,  in  the  San  Francisco  company 
and  served  until  1794,  when  he  was  retired  and  his  son, 
Jose  Rafael,  took  his  place.  Jose  Antonio  Galindo, 
son  of  Juan  Venancio,  received  on  September  23,  1835, 
the  first  grant  of  land  in  San  Francisco:  La  Laguna 
de  la  Merced,  twenty-two  hundred  and  twenty  acres  in 
the  southwestern  part  of  the  city  and  county.  On  May 
12,  1837,  Galindo  sold  this  rancho  to  Francisco  de  Haro, 
for  one  hundred  cows  and  twenty-five  dollars  in  goods. 
It  now  belongs  to  the  Spring  Valley  Water  Company 
and  is  valued  at  four  million  dollars.  Galindo  also 
received  in  1835,  the  Sausalito  rancho  which  he  sold  to 
William  A.  Richardson  the  following  year.  Other  mem- 
bers of  this  family  received  town  lots  in  San  Francisco 
and  the  lands  of  the  Santa  Clara  mission.  A  grand- 
daughter of  Nicolas  Galindo  married  James  Alexander 
Forbes,  English  consul  at  Monterey. 

3.  Nicolas  Antonio  Berreyesa,  born  in  Sinaloa  in  1761, 
was  accompanied  by  his  sister,  Isabel,  age  twenty-two, 
both  unmarried.  Nicolas  married  Gertrudis,  daughter 
of  Gabriel  Peralta,  and  Isabel  married  Juan  Jose  Peralta, 
her  brother,  Nicolas  enlisted  in  the  San  Francisco 
company  October  i,  1782.  His  son,  Jose  de  los  Reyes, 
born  in  Santa  Clara,  January  6,  1785,  was  one  of  the 
first  victims  of  the  war  of  conquest.  He  was  a  retired 
sergeant  with  thirty-seven  years'  service  to  his  credit. 
He  was  killed  June  28,  1846,  by  Fremont's  men  as  he 
landed  from  a  boat  at  San  Rafael  on  his  way  to  Sonoma 
to  visit  his  son  who  was  alcalde  at  that  place.  With 
him  were  two  sons  of  Francisco  de  Haro,  Francisco  and 
Ramon,  bearers  of  dispatches  from  Castro  to  his  lieutenant 
Joaquin  de  la  Torre.  Jose  Reyes  Berreyesa  was  owner 
of  the  land  on  which  the  New  Almaden  quicksilver  mines 


Notes  305 

were  situated  The  members  of  this  family  received  the 
following  grants:  Caiiada  de  Capay,  Rincon  de  Musula- 
con,  Chirules,  San  Vicente,  Malacomes,  Milpitas,  and 
Las  Putas.     Nicolas  wrote  his  name  Berrelleza. 

4.  Maria  Feliciana  Arballo,  widow  of  Jose  Gutierrez, 
accompanied  the  expedition  with  her  two  little  girls: 
Maria  Tomasa  Gutierrez,  age  six,  and  Maria  Estaquia 
Gutierrez,  age  four.  She  left  the  expedition  at  San 
Gabriel,  where  on  March  6,  1776,  she  was  married  to 
Juan  Francisco  Lopez,  a  soldier  of  the  guard.  The 
marriage  ceremony  was  performed  by  Fray  Francisco 
Garces,  missionary  to  the  Colorado  river  tribes,  who, 
it  will  be  remembered,  Anza  had  left  at  the  junction 
of  the  rivers.  Garces  had  gone  up  the  Colorado  to  visit 
the  Mojaves  and  had  crossed  the  Mojave  desert,  arriving 
at  San  Gabriel  after  the  expedition  had  passed  up  the 
coast.  Little  Maria  Estaquia,  thirteen  years  later, 
married  Jose  Maria  Pico  whom  she  had  first  known  when, 
a  boy  of  eleven,  he  accompanied  his  family  with  the 
expedition.  She  became  the  mother  of  Pio  Pico.  Maria 
Feliciana  had,  by  her  second  husband,  Maria  Ignacia 
de  la  Candelaria  Lopez,  who  married  Joaquin  Carrillo 
of  San  Diego,  and  became  the  mother  of  General  Vallejo's 
wife  and  four  other  daughters  whose  loveliness  is  duly 
recorded  in  the  pages  of  this  historia  verdadera.  After 
her  husband's  death  Maria  Ignacia  Lopez  de  Carrillo, 
who  was  a  most  beautiful  woman,  was  granted,  in  1841, 
the  rancho  Cabeza  de  Santa  Rosa  in  Sonoma  county, 
where  she  lived  with  her  son  Ramon.  She  is  buried  in 
the  ruined  mission  of  San  Francisco  Solano,  at  Sonoma. 
Her  remains  were  laid  under  the  font  where  it  would 
receive  the  holy  water  that  fell  from  the  hands  of  devout 
worshippers. 


3o6       The  Beginnings  of  San  Francisco 

The  three  solteros  were:  Don  Francisco  Munos, 
Pedro  Perez  de  la  Fuente,  Marcos  Villela. 

Villela  became  a  poblador  at  San  Jose  Guadalupe. 
Of  the  others,  I  know  nothing. 


Notes  307 


Note  13 
B  AC —TUB  AC —TUCSON 

Bac  (house).  The  mission  of  San  Xavler  del  Bac 
nine  miles  south  of  Tucson  was  founded  by  Father  Kino 
in  1700.  On  the  expulsion  of  the  Jesuits  Father  Garces 
was  assigned  to  this  mission  which  he  took  charge  of  in 
1768  and  administered  for  ten  years.  The  present 
church,  which  is  described  as  a  most  remarkable  object 
to  find  in  so  wild  a  country,  was  begun  in  1768  and  finished 
in  1798.  Bartlett,  who  visited  it  in  1852,  said  it  was  the 
largest  and  most  beautiful  church  in  the  State  of  Sonora. 
Benjamin  Hayes,  writing  in  1857,  says:  "San  Xavier 
is  not  what  it  was  when  I  passed  in  1849.  The  magnifi- 
cent church  is  becoming  dilapidated,  the  Papagos  who 
had  the  care  of  it  having  left.  It  then  looked  magnif- 
icently over  the  dark  mesquite  forest  through  which 
it  is  approached,  with  its  white  walls  like  marble  and 
its  three  domes.  The  altar  seemed  a  mass  of  gold  as 
the  sun's  rays  streamed  upon  it  in  the  afternoon.  It 
had  thirteen  good  oil  paintings,  kept  in  a  side  room  with 
the  altar  furniture  and  priest's  robes.  The  interior 
walls  were  filled  with  scriptural  scenes,  fresh  as  if  painted 
the  day  before.  *  *  *  This  church  might  be  an  ornament 
to  Fourth  Street,  Saint  Louis,  or  to  any  other  city." 
(Benj.  Hayes:     Emigrant  Notes  MS.  p.  150.) 

Tuhac.  The  presidio  of  Tubac  was  one  of  a  chain  of 
presidios  guarding  the  northern  frontier  of  Sonora.  It 
was  erected  in  1752  on  the  Santa  Cruz  river,  in  what 
is  now  the  Territory  of  Arizona,  about  forty-five  miles 
south  of  Tucson.  In  1767  the  place  had  a  population 
of  four  hundred  and  twenty  gente  de  razon*  including 

*People  of  Reason — Civilized  Folk. 


3o8       The  Beginnings  of  San  Francisco 

the  families  of  the  fifty  soldiers  of  the  garrison  under 
Captain  Anza.  In  1776  the  presidio  was  removed  to 
Tucson.  In  1777  the  people  of  Tubac  petitioned  for 
a  restoration  of  the  presidio  and  a  company  of  Pimas 
was  organized  for  a  permanent  garrison.  Later,  the  post 
was  occupied  by  a  company  of  Spanish  regulars.  After 
the  cession  to  the  United  States  there  was  a  temporary 
revival  of  the  old  town.  It  is  situated  within  the  southern 
rain  belt,  in  the  richest  portion  of  the  Santa  Cruz  valley. 
The  annual  rainfall  is  from  twenty  to  twenty-five  inches. 
In  1858-9,  Tubac  had  a  population  of  eight  hundred, 
and  the  houses  with  their  gardens  and  groves  of  acacias 
and  peach  trees  made  the  little  town  most  attractive. 
It  was  in  the  center  of  the  mineral  region  and  had  probably 
one  hundred  and  fifty  silver  mines  within  a  radius  of 
sixteen  miles.  During  the  War  of  the  Rebellion  it  was 
occupied  for  a  short  time  by  Confederate  troops  and  later 
by  a  regiment  of  California  volunteers.  The  location 
is  adjacent  to  the  Apacheria.  It  was  frequently  raided 
by  the  Apaches  and  in  1861-62  and  63  was  made  un- 
inhabitable by  those  savage  warriors,  and  several  well- 
known  mining  engineers  fell  victims  to  their  fury.  There 
is  but  little  left  of  the  historic  town  now. 

Tucson.  The  claim  that  Tucson  was  settled  by  the 
Spaniards  in  1560  has  no  foundation.  Anza  on  his  return 
from  Monterey  in  1775,  reached  Tuscon  May  25th.  He 
calls  it  the  Pima  pueblo  of  Teson  and  says  it  belongs  to 
the  Pimas  Altas  (i.  e.  the  inhabitants  of  Pimeria  Alta)] 
that  it  is  within  the  jurisdiction  of  his  presidio  and  con- 
tains eighty  families.  Passing  through  Tucson  October 
26,  1775,  with  the  second  expedition,  Father  Garces  calls 
it  "^  visita  of  my  administration  and  the  last  christianized 
pueblo  in  this  direction"  (north).  The  foundation  of 
Tucson  as  a  Spanish  settlement  was  in  1776,  when  the 
presidio  of  Tubac  was  transferred  thither. 


Notes  309 

Note  14 

THE    DESTRUCTION    OF    THE 
MISSIONS  OF  THE  COLORADO 

Salvador  Palma,  chief  of  the  Yumas,  whose  anxiety 
to  embrace  the  true  religion  and  have  his  people  con- 
verted to  Christianity  was  so  extreme  that  he  made  peace 
with  the  surrounding  nations  and  complied  with  all  of 
Anza's  requirements,  headed  a  revolt  against  the  pueblo- 
missions  of  the  Colorado  and  totally  destroyed  them, 
killing  Captain  Fernando  Rivera  y  Moncado,  lieutenant- 
governor  of  Lower  California,  the  four  priests  in  charge 
of  the  missions — including  this  same  Father  Garces — 
and  some  forty-two  of  the  soldiers  and  settlers,  one  of 
whom  was  a  private  soldier  in  the  company  now  being 
entertained  by  him.  While  the  tale  is  a  cruel  one,  a 
study  of  the  events  leading  up  to  the  outbreak  forces 
the  conclusion  that  from  the  Indian's  point  of  view  there 
was  much  provocation.  No  one  can  read  the  accounts 
given  by  Anza  of  the  services  rendered  by  this  chief  and 
his  Yumas  without  realizing  how  valuable  to  the  infant 
establishments  of  California  was  the  friendship  that 
Anza  so  carefully  and  successfully  cultivated.  He 
records  his  opinion  that  Palma's  affection  and  fidelity 
may  be  fully  trusted,  and  says  that  with  the  friendly 
assistance  of  the  Yumas  the  passage  of  the  Colorado 
was  assured,  but  if  it  were  opposed  by  them  it  would 
be  next  to  impossible.  On  his  first  journey  he  trusted  to 
the  care  of  the  Yuma  the  lives  of  seven  of  his  men,  and 
what  is  especially  tempting  to  an  Indian,  a  large  part 
of  his  horses  and  cattle  and  the  most  of  his  baggage  with 
its  precious  stores  of  trinkets,  tobacco,  and  other  things 
of  value  to  the  savage;  all  of  which  was  safely  guarded 


3IO       The  Beginnings  of  San  Francisco 

and  returned  to  him  when  he  came  back  from  Monterey, 
although  the  time  set  for  his  return  was  long  passed  and 
reports  had  been  received  that  Anza  and  all  his  party 
had  been  killed  by  the  hill  tribes  of  California. 

On  Anza's  return  from  San  Francisco  in  1776,  Palma 
accompanied  him  to  the  City  of  Mexico  where  he  was 
well  entertained.  Bucareli,  favorably  impressed  with 
him  and  Anza's  report  concerning  him,  promised  to 
establish  a  presidio  and  two  missions  on  the  Rio  Colorado. 
The  project  was  delayed  by  Indian  troubles  in  the  Pimeria 
Alta,  and  in  the  meantime  a  new  element  was  introduced 
which  gave  the  execution  of  the  plan  into  new  and  untried 
hands.  The  office  of  comandante-general  of  the  Pro- 
vincias  Internas  de  Occidente  was  created  and  made 
independent  of  the  viceroy;  Don  Teodoro  de  Croix  was 
appointed  to  the  place  and  Anza  was  sent  as  governor 
to  New  Mexico.  Palma  was  still  in  the  City  of  Mexico 
when  the  new  official  arrived.  Bucareli  commended  him 
to  Croix  who  promised  to  give  the  matter  his  early 
attention,  and  Palma  returned  to  his  people  much  pleased 
with  his  reception  and  importance.  A  year  passed  and 
nothing  was  done.  Palma  went  to  Altar  to  ascertain 
the  cause  of  the  delay.  The  captain  of  that  presidio 
satisfied  him  that  matters  were  progressing  and  he  re- 
turned to  the  Colorado.  Another  year  passed  with 
nothing  accomplished.  Palma's  people  taunted  him  with 
his  failure  and  his  allies  regarded  him  with  contempt. 
The  authority  of  an  Indian  chief  is  but  precarious  at  best. 
He  must  be  wise;  he  must  be  strong;  but  above  all  he 
must  be  successful.  The  domination  of  Palma  was 
largely  due  to  the  recognition  and  confirmation  of  his 
authority  by  the  Spaniards.  He  was  now  being  dis- 
credited. He  went  again  to  Altar  and  thence  to  Hor- 
casitas  whose  commander  represented  to  the  comandante- 
general  the  uneasiness  of  the  Indians  of  the  Colorado. 


Notes  311 

The  king  had  been  advised  of  Palma's  visit  to  Mexico, 
had  seen  Anza's  reports  of  his  two  expeditions  as  well  as 
Garces'  reports  on  the  Yumas,  and  he  ordered  Croix  to 
concede  to  Palma  the  promised  presidio  and  missions. 
The  comandante-general,  however,  had  ideas  of  his  own 
on  that  subject  and  he  attempted  to  console  Palma  by 
sending  Friars  Garces  and  Diaz  with  an  escort  of  twelve 
soldiers  and  a  scanty  equipment  to  the  Colorado.  They 
reached  Palma's  domain  late  in  1779  and  great  was  the 
disappointment  and  chagrin  of  the  Yumas.  The  contrast 
between  what  they  expected  and  what  they  got  was  too 
great.  In  1775  there  had  passed  through  their  country 
a  great  expedition  with  a  large  body  of  troops  clad  in 
leather  armor  {soldados  de  cuera),  great  herds  of  cattle 
and  trains  of  sumpter  mules  laden  with  precious  wares, 
all  under  command  of  an  officer  of  high  rank  and  dignified 
bearing  who  created  governors  and  alcaldes,  conferred 
decorations  in  the  name  of  the  king,  and  scattered  largess 
with  a  liberal  hand.  All  this  gallant  array  was  for  the 
purpose  of  founding  a  presidio  and  two  missions  on  the 
bay  of  San  Francisco.  They  had  been  promised  a  like 
establishment  in  their  country,  and  now,  after  years  of 
patient  waiting,  the  fulfillment  of  that  promise  came  in 
the  shape  of  two  priests,  twelve  soldiers,  and  a  beggarly 
outfit  hardly  sufficient  for  their  own  subsistence.  Many 
Indians  were  already  in  revolt  and  the  peace,  so  carefully 
established  by  Anza,  had  already  been  broken  by  the 
murder  of  a  Yuma  by  the  Papagos.  It  was  the  beginning 
of  war  between  the  tribes  and  of  general  distrust  of  the 
Spaniards.  Garces,  whose  wide  experience  had  taught 
him  the  Indian  character,  reported  the  dangers  of  the 
situation  and  Croix  resolved  to  adopt  a  new  plan  in  the 
establishments  of  the  Colorado  and  found  two  missions 
each  of  which  should  combine  the  features  of  a  presidio, 
a  pueblo,  and  a  mission.     Against  the  protests  of  Garces 


312       The  Beginnings  of  San  Francisco 

and  the  warnings  of  Anza  he  proceeded  to  carry  his  plan 
into  effect;  and  the  autumn  of  1780  witnessed  the  arrival 
in  the  land  of  the  Yumas  of  twenty  settlers,  twelve 
laborers,  and  twenty-one  soldiers,  all  bringing  their 
wives  and  plenty  of  children.  The  number  of  priests 
was  increased  to  four.  One  presidio-pueblo-mission  was 
established  at  Puerto  de  la  Concepcion,  later  the  site 
of  Fort  Yuma,  where  the  partly  demolished  remains  of 
stone  walls  of  buildings  were  seen  by  Bartlett  in  1852; 
and  the  other  about  eight  miles  down  the  river,  almost 
on  the  boundary  line  between  Alta  and  Baja  California, 
both  on  the  California  side  of  the  river.  The  upper 
establishment  was  called  La  Purisima  Concepcion  and 
the  lower  San  Pedro  y  San  Pablo  de  Bicufier.  The  new 
settlers  proceeded  to  appropriate  the  best  lands  and  forage 
their  cattle  and  horses  on  the  growing  crops  of  the  Yumas. 

Nothing  more  was  needed  to  fan  the  smouldering 
discontent  into  the  fierce  flame  of  open  rebellion.  Ensign 
Santiago  de  las  Islas  was  in  command  and  in  June  1781, 
came  Captain  Rivera  y  Moncada  from  Sonora  with  a 
party  of  recruits  for  the  California  establishments.  The 
recruits  Rivera  sent  on  to  California,  a  portion  of  his 
escort  he  sent  back  to  Sonora  and,  with  about  a  dozen 
of  his  men,  he  remained  to  his  death  in  camp  on  the 
Arizona  side  of  the  river. 

On  Tuesday,  July  17,  1781,  the  blow  fell.  Under  the 
leadership  of  Palma  the  attack  was  made  simultaneously 
on  both  missions  and  all  but  seven  of  the  men  were  killed; 
the  women  and  children  were  carried  into  captivity  and 
the  houses  were  destroyed.  Garces  was  at  Concepcion 
and  both  he  and  his  companion.  Father  Barrenche, 
survived  the  first  attack,  and  while  the  Indians  were 
killing  right  and  left  and  looting  the  houses,  both  padres 
were  busy  hearing  confessions  and  administering  the 
sacraments  to  the  dying.     Both  were  beaten  to  death 


Notes  313 

with  clubs  two  days  later.  On  the  eighteenth  the  Yumas 
crossed  the  river,  and  attacked  Rivera,  killing  the  com- 
mander and  all  of  his  men  and  destroying  his  camp. 
Thus  ended  the  first  and  last  attempt  to  establish  missions 
on  the  Colorado. 

The  death  of  Father  Garces  in  his  forty-fourth  year 
closed  the  earthly  career  of  one  of  the  most  heroic,  spirit- 
ual, and  lovable  of  men.  Born  in  the  Villa  de  Morata 
del  Conde,  in  Aragon,  April  12,  1738,  baptized  Francisco 
Tomas  Hermenegildo,  he  was  carefully  educated,  ordained 
in  the  priesthood,  and  at  the  age  of  twenty-five  was  sent, 
at  his  earnest  request,  a  missionary,  to  the  college  of 
the  Santa  Cruz  de  Queretaro  (Mexico).  In  1768  he 
was  given  charge  of  San  Javier  del  Bac.  He  visited  the 
various  pueblos  of  the  Pimas  and  Papagos  and  in  August 
of  that  year  made  his  first  visit  to  the  Gila.  In  1770  he 
made  another  trip  to  the  pueblos  of  the  Gila  and  in  1771 
traveled  to  the  junction  of  the  Gila  and  Colorado.  The 
Yumas  took  him  across  the  Colorado  on  a  raft  into  Lower 
California  and  he  wandered  for  some  time  among  the 
Indians  of  the  lower  Colorado,  preaching  and  baptizing 
the  dying.  He  accompanied  Anza  on  his  first  expedition 
of  1774  as  far  as  San  Gabriel,  and  accompanied  him  on 
the  second  trip  as  far  as  the  Colorado.  He  visited  the 
tribes  up  the  river,  crossed  the  Mojave  desert  to  San 
Gabriel  and  discovered  the  Mojave  river.  Returning 
he  passed  into  Tulare  valley,  discovered  Kern  river  and 
went  nearly  to  Tulare  lake.  He  visited  the  Moqui 
pueblos  whose  inhabitants  refused  to  receive  him  and 
would  give  him  neither  shelter  nor  food.  In  this  journey 
he  was  alone,  his  guide,  in  fear  of  his  life,  refusing  to  go 
with  him. 

In  much  of  his  wanderings  he  was  alone,  in  the  desolate 
desert  or  in  the  midst  of  ruthless  savages,  yet  he  was 
without  fear,  for  he  was  on  the  Master's  service.     In  his 


314       The  Beginnings  of  San  Francisco 

death  at  the  hands  of  those  he  loved  and  for  the  welfare 
of  whose  souls  he  labored,  he  was  found  worthy  of  the 
highest  reward,  the  crown  of  martyrdom.  Precious  in 
the  sight  of  the  Lord  is  the  death  of  the  just. 


Notes  315 


Note  15 
THE  COLORADO  DESERT 

In  order  to  realize  Anza's  great  achievement,  one  has 
but  to  read  the  passage  of  this  desert  by  the  advance 
guard  of  the  Army  of  the  West  under  General  Stephen 
W.  Kearny  in  November  1846,  as  told  by  Lieutenant 
W.  H.  Emory,  U.  S.  Topographical  Engineers,  accompany- 
ing the  expedition.*  Kearny,  with  his  staflF  and  one 
hundred  dragoons,  a  pack-train,  and  a  large  supply  of 
extra  saddle  and  pack  animals,  followed  the  route  of  the 
"great  highway"  opened  by  Anza  seventy  years  before. 
The  hardships  and  sufferings  of  these  toughened  soldiers 
in  crossing  this  desert  were  great,  and  they  lost  a  large 
number  of  animals.  Also  read  Bartlettf  who  crossed 
the  desert  in  June  1852. 

A  great  change  has  been  wrought  in  this  desolate  region. 
The  waters  of  the  Rio  Colorado  have  caused  the  desert 
to  bloom  as  the  rose;  grains  and  grasses,  fruits  and  flowers 
cover  the  once  glistening  sands,  and  the  mesquite  and 
cactus  have  given  way  for  the  date,  the  fig,  and  the  olive. 
But  the  genius  of  the  desert  was  not  to  be  overcome 
without  a  struggle.  By  the  advancing  forces  of  reclama- 
tion and  civilization  the  mighty  power  of  the  great  river 
had  not  been  sufficiently  considered  and  suddenly  the 
Colorado  asserted  itself;  it  deserted  its  channel  and 
poured  its  flood  through  the  canal  opened  to  convey  a 
portion  of  its  waters  to  the  arroyo  of  the  Alamo  river  and 
thence  to  the  irrigating  canals.  The  force  of  the  river 
soon  widened  the  intake  to  a  channel  of  six  hundred  yards 
and  the  entire  flow  of  the  Colorado  went  racing  down 


*30th  Cong.  1st.  Ses.  Ex.  Doc.  No.  41. 
jBartlett:     Personal  Narraiivf. 


3i6       The  Beginnings  of  San  Francisco 

the  comparatively  steep  incline  to  the  Salton  sea.  Des- 
perate attempts  were  made  to  dam^  the  new  channel. 
A  channel  was  opened  between  the  Alamo  and  the  Rio 
Padrones  in  an  effort  to  divert  the  flood  through  the 
Rio  Padrones,  Volcano  lake,  and  Hardy's  Colorado  to 
the  gulf;  but  just  north  of  the  lake  the  water  cut  a  channel 
for  itself  from  Rio  Padrones  through  to  New  river  and 
flowed  thence  northwest  to  Salton  sea,  which  began  to 
fill  under  the  flow  from  two  channels;  the  Alamo  and  New 
rivers.  The  water  rapidly  eroded  the  soft  silt  of  the  desert 
forming  deep  channels  and  cataracts  which,  progressing 
up  stream,  threatened  to  result  in  conditions  that  would 
not  permit  of  the  waters  being  diverted  into  the  irrigating 
canals,  being  from  sixty  to  eighty  feet  below  the  surface 
of  the  surrounding  country. 

An  appeal  was  made  to  the  Federal  government  and  on 
January  12,  1906,  the  president  sent  a  message  to  Congress 
asking  for  an  appropriation  of  two  million  dollars  to  con- 
trol the  Colorado  river  and  save  the  homes  of  the  settlers 
of  the  Imperial  valley  of  California,  as  it  is  called;  but 
it  was  not  until  February  1907  that  the  stream  was 
finally  subjugated. 

In  December  1908  I  visited  the  valley  and  plucked  a 
delicious  orange  from  a  four  year  old  tree  in  a  grove  in 
the  midst  of  the  terrible  desert.  The  so-called  rivers  of  the 
Colorado  desert  are  but  dry  channels  through  which  the 
waters  of  the  Colorado  flow  when  the  river  is  in  flood.  The 
flow  is  northward,  and  in  times  of  great  freshet  the  waters 
have  reached  and  filled  the  Salton  sea,  a  depression  in  the 
northern  part  of  the  desert  lying  some  three  hundred 
feet  below  sea  level.  There  are  two  of  these  rivers,  the 
Alamo  or  Salton  river,  and  the  New  river.  The  Rio 
Padrones  connects  the  New  river  with  the  Colorado.  It 
takes  the  overflow  of  the  great  river  at  a  point  six  or 
eight   miles   below   the   boundary   line    and    conveys   it 


Notes  317 

through  several  channels  to  Volcano  lake,  thence  through 
New  river  to  Salton  sea,  and  also  through  Hardy's 
Colorado  to  the  gulf.  The  waters  of  the  Colorado  have 
reached  Salton  sea  several  times  within  the  memory 
of  the  present  generation;  the  depression  is  now  filled 
to  a  depth  of  nearly  eighty  feet  and  the  water  covers  an 
area  of  about  three  hundred  square  miles. 

Hardy's  Colorado  is  another  of  these  overflow  rivers — 
in  this  case  being  supplied  by  the  flood  from  above. 
In  May  1826  Lieutenant  R.  W.  H.  Hardy  of  the  British 
navy,  traveling  in  Mexico,  chartered  in  the  port  of 
Guaymas  a  twenty-five  ton  schooner.  El  Bruja,  and 
sailed  to  the  head  of  the  gulf.  Encountering  a  good 
deal  of  trouble  in  high  winds  and  shoals  he  finally  reached 
a  vein  of  reddish  water  which  he  surmised  came  from 
"Red"  river  and  at  two  o'clock  of  the  same  day  he  saw 
an  opening  ahead  which  he  took  to  be  the  mouth  and  he 
sailed  into  it  and  anchored  for  the  night  at  half  past  six. 
At  midnight  he  cast  the  lead  and  found  but  a  foot  and 
a  half  of  water.  He  got  off  without  damage  at  the  next 
rise  of  the  tide  but  next  day  he  broke  his  rudder  and 
continued  his  exploration  for  some  distance  upward  in 
a  small  boat.  He  thought  the  mouth  of  the  Gila  was 
below  him,  but  what  he  took  for  the  Gila  was  the  Colorado 
itself.  He  was  in  a  bayou  or  flood  water  channel  from 
which  he  finally  extricated  himself.  This  channel  is  still 
called  Hardy's  Colorado. 


3i8       The  Beginnings  of  San  Francisco 

Note  i6 
RIO  DE  SANTA  ANA 

To  those  who  have  only  seen  the  dry  bed  of  the  Santa 
Ana  river  in  summer  Anza's  account  of  the  passage  will 
seem  strange.  Some  one  has  said  that  the  bed  of  a 
southern  California  river  is  on  top;  and  the  Santa  Ana  is 
a  typical  river  of  southern  California.  The  visible 
water  supply  is  not  by  any  means  all  there  is  if  one  of 
these  streams.  A  great  part  of  the  flow  is  under  the 
surface,  and  though  the  bed  of  the  river  may  be  dry, 
abundance  of  water  may  be  generally  found  by  sinking. 
Where  the  rock  approaches  the  surface,  as  in  the  entrance 
to  a  caiion,  the  water  rises,  only  to  sink  again  as  the 
rock  recedes.  The  Santa  Ana  river,  the  crossing  of  which 
was  so  serious  a  matter  to  Anza's  expedition,  shows  to 
most  persons  passing  through  San  Bernardino  valley  but 
a  dry  bed  of  sand;  yet  this  river  forms  one  of  the  most 
important  and  valuable  water  supplies  in  the  south. 
Rising  in  the  San  Bernardino  mountains  (Sierra  Madre) 
it  comes  out  of  a  broad  caiion  at  the  east  end  of  the 
valley  where  its  surface  flow  in  summer  is  all  taken  by  the 
ditch  companies  supplying  the  Highlands  and  Redlands 
districts.  The  San  Bernardino  valley,  bed  of  an  ancient 
lake,  receives  at  its  edge  several  streams,  tributary  to  the 
Santa  Ana,  which  promptly  disappear.  The  subter- 
ranean flow  of  the  river,  probably  spread  out  through  the 
basin  of  the  valley,  is  gathered  with  the  water  of  the 
tributaries  and  thrown  to  the  surface  again  by  the  rim 
of  the  basin  as  the  stream  passes  from  the  valley  through 
the  gap  between  Slover  mountain  and  the  Riverside  mesa. 
Here  the  water  is  taken  for  the  Riverside  district.  Ten 
miles  below,  the  stream  rises  to  the  surface  again  as  it 


Notes  319 

enters  the  head  of  its  caiion  through  the  coast  range  and 
during  its  passage  through  this  canon  the  ditches  supplying 
Orange  county  take  their  water.*  Emerging  from  the 
caiion  the  waters  again  seek  their  underground  channel  and 
flow  onward  to  the  sea,  spreading  through  the  land  and 
in  some  places  creating  large  cienegas.  In  one  of  these 
cienegas,  on  Las  Bolsas  rancho,  an  important  industry 
was  begun  some  years  ago — the  raising  of  celery.  From 
this  rancho  there  is  shipped  annually  two  thousand 
carloads  of  celery. 

Portola  reached  the  neighborhood  of  the  river  July 
26,  1769,  Saint  Anne's  day,  and  crossed  it  on  the  28th, 
giving  it  the  saint's  name,  by  which  it  is  still  known. 
Crespi  named  it  Rio  Jesus  de  los  Temblores,  because  of 
an  earthquake  they  experienced  there. 

*HalI:    Irrigation  in  California.     119  et  seq. 


320       The  Beginnings  of  San  Francisco 

Note  17 
SANTA  BARBARA 


On  August  18,  1769,  Portola  came  to  a  large  lake  of 
fresh  water,  on  the  bank  of  which  was  the  largest  rancheria 
they  had  yet  seen.  They  were  courteously  received  by 
the  Indians  who  supplied  them  with  an  abundance  of 
fish  both  fresh  and  roasted.  Crespi  says  that  the  fish 
given  them  as  a  present  amounted  to  four  cargas  (iioo 
lbs.)  The  lake  appeared  to  be  a  permanent  one,  fed 
from  springs,  and  the  mesa  near  by  was  covered  with 
great  oaks.  They  named  the  lake  Laguna  de  la  Con- 
cepcion;  the  pueblo  being  called  the  Pueblo  de  la  Laguna. 

On  the  15th  of  April  1782,  Felipe  de  Neve,  governor 
of  California,  accompanied  by  Junipero  Serra  and  a 
large  company  of  soldiers,  arrived  at  Laguna  de  la  Con- 
cepcion  where  they  were  handsomely  received  by  the 
chief,  Yanonolit,  ruler  of  thirteen  large  rancherias.  The 
advantages  of  La  Laguna  and  those  of  Mescaltitan, 
two  and  a  half  leagues  to  the  west,  were  considered  and 
it  was  decided  to  establish  the  presidio  and  mission  at 
the  Laguna.  The  presidio  was  formally  founded  April 
21,  1782,  when  Father  Junipero  said  mass  and  chanted 
an  alabado.  Ortega  was  given  the  command  with  Jose 
Dario  Argiiello  as  ensign  and  fifty-five  non-commissioned 
officers  and  men.  Thus  was  established  the  presidio 
of  Santa  Barbara,  the  strongest  military  post  in  California. 
Eight  of  the  company,  including  Lieutenant  Ortega  and 
Sergeant  Pablo  de  Cota,  were  veterans  of  Portola's 
expedition. 


Notes  321 

Note  18 
MESCALTITAN 

This  was  the  largest  group  of  rancherias  the  Spaniards 
found  in  California,  The  Indians  of  the  Santa  Barbara 
channel  were  superior  to  all  others  seen  in  California 
and  the  large  and  populous  towns  of  this  group  Portola 
called  the  Contiguous  Rancherias  of  Mescaltitan.  The 
marshes  surrounding  the  estero  have  been  mostly  drained 
and  contain  some  of  the  finest  walnut  groves  in  California. 
The  four  rancherias  of  this  group  were  called  Salspalil, 
Hello  or  the  Islet,  Alcas,  and  Oksbullow;  while  the  group 
was  known  as  the  rancherias  of  the  Mescaltitan.  Around 
the  estero  and  marshes  are  numerous  mounds  containing 
the  remains  of  a  large  population.  These  rancherias 
were  on  the  Goleta  and  Dos  Pueblos  ranchos.  The 
map  of  Santa  Barbara  county  has  the  island  designated 
as  Mescalititan,  but  the  quadrangle  of  the  geological 
survey  (Goleta  special)  has  it  "Mescal"  island.  The  matter 
has  been  represented  to  the  director  of  the  survey  but 
he  has  not  seen  fit  to  notice  it.  Thus  are  our  historic 
names  destroyed  through  the  ignorance  and  carelessness 
of  the  public  servants. 


322       The  Beginnings  of  San  Francisco 

Note  19 
JUNIPERO  SERRA 

At  Petra  on  the  island  of  Mallorca  there  was  born 
November  24,  171 3,  Miguel  Jose  Serra,  son  of  Antonio 
Serra  and  Margarita  Ferrer,  his  wife.  The  boy  early 
developed  religious  tendencies  and  his  favorite  reading 
was  the  lives  of  the  saints.  He  took  the  Franciscan 
habit  at  Palma  September  14,  1730,  and  made  his  pro- 
fession a  year  later,  at  which  time  he  assumed  the  name 
of  Junipero.  He  was  an  earnest  and  proficient  student 
and  taught  philosophy  in  the  chief  convent  of  Palma 
for  a  year  before  his  ordination.  He  was  noted  for 
doctrinal  learning  and  for  sensational  preaching,  and 
often  bared  his  shoulders  and  scourged  himself  with  an 
iron  chain,  extinguished  lighted  candles  on  his  flesh, 
or  pounded  his  breast  with  a  large  stone,  as  he  exhorted 
his  hearers  to  penitence. 

On  March  30,  1749,  he  obtained  his  warrant  to  join 
the  college  of  San  Fernando  and  devote  himself  to  mis- 
sionary work  in  America.  He  sailed  from  Cadiz  in 
August,  reached  Vera  Cruz  December  6th,  and  walked 
to  Mexico  where  he  arrived  January  i,  1750.  For 
seventeen  years  he  preached  and  taught  in  various 
places  and  on  July  14,  1767,  was  appointed  president 
of  the  California  missions.  In  company  with  the  governor 
(Portola)  he  marched  with  the  rear  guard — always  on 
foot — reaching  San  Diego  July  i,  1769.  He  was  unable 
to  accompany  the  expedition  on  its  march  to  Monterey 
but  sailed  April  16,  1770,  reached  Monterey  May  31st 
and  founded  the  mission  of  San  Carlos  June  3d. 

Fray  Junipero's  administration  of  the  missions  was 
very  successful  and   while   kind-hearted   and   charitable 


Notes  323 

he  was  most  strict  in  his  enforcement  of  religious  duties. 
He  was  not  always  in  accord  with  the  miHtary  com- 
manders and  the  viceroy  was  at  times  put  to  it  to  maintain 
the  peace  in  his  new  establishments  of  California.  Serra's 
death  at  San  Carlos  August  28,  1784,  cast  a  gloom  over 
the  province,  for  he  was  greatly  beloved.  He  was  buried 
the  next  day  in  the  mission  church  and  Palou  acted  as 
president  until  the  appointment  of  Fray  Fermin  Fran- 
cisco Lasuen  in  1785. 


324       The  Beginnings  of  San  Francisco 

Note  20 

THE  CLIMATE  OF  SAN  FRANCISCO 

The  scrub  oak  which  Anza  describes  reaches  a  height 
of  from  ten  to  twenty-five  feet,  though  this  does  not 
indicate  the  length  of  the  trunk  which  frequently  extends 
some  distance  in  an  almost  horizontal  position.  The 
winds  of  which  he  speaks  blow  regularly  during  the 
summer  months  from  ten  o'clock  in  the  morning  until 
ten  or  eleven  o'clock  at  night.  They  begin  about  the 
first  of  May  and  are  over  by  the  first  of  October.  They 
are  practically  confined  to  the  upper  end  of  the  peninsula 
— the  city  of  San  Francisco.  These  winds,  which  blow 
from  the  west  and  have  been  erroneously  called  trade 
winds,  are  caused  by  a  circulation  established  by  the 
displacement  upward  of  the  warm  air  of  the  great  valley 
of  the  Sacramento-San  Joaquin  which  appears  to  move 
seaward  at  a  height  of  about  4,000  feet  probably  descend- 
ing slowly  to  sea  level  some  distance  from  the  coast, 
and  the  cool  air  flowing  in  from  the  sea  has  its  movement 
accelerated  both  by  the  topography  and  by  the  temper- 
ature gradient.  From  experiments  which  have  been 
made  by  weather  bureau  officials  the  depth  of  the  surface 
flow  in  midsummer  is  about  1,700  feet.  It  is  these 
winds  that  give  to  San  Francisco  its  peculiar  climate 
and  make  the  citizen  hesitate  to  name  the  coldest  month 
of  the  year.  They  have  been  much  abused  and  aff^ord 
to  many  inhabitants  of  the  city  a  constant  and  fruitful 
cause  of  complaint.  To  persons  of  weak  lungs  and  to 
those  subject  to  bronchial  afi"ections  they  are  sometimes 
trying.  It  is  not  the  west  wind,  however,  that  exerts 
a  baleful  influence,  but  the  north  wind,  and  that,  fortu- 
nately, is  not  frequent.     The  summer  winds  are  healthful 


Notes  325 

and  invigorating.  A  chart  of  mean  summer  wind 
velocity,  prepared  by  the  weather  bureau,  shows  the 
increase  of  velocity  from  8.6  miles  per  hour  at  9  A.  M, 
to  21  miles  at  5  P.  M.  and  a  decrease  to  11  miles  at  10 
P.  M.  These  are  the  averages  for  the  three  summer 
months.  The  highest  recorded  velocity  for  those  months 
in  a  period  of  thirty-nine  years  is  forty-eight  miles  an 
hour,  southwest,  on  June  30,  1873.  With  the  wind 
direct  from  the  ocean  at  a  velocity  of  twenty-one  miles, 
laden  perhaps  with  fog,  a  mean  temperature  of  59° 
Fahrenheit,  with  an  occasional  drop  to  47°,  one  can 
readily  understand  why  summer  visitors  to  San  Francisco 
are  advised  to  bring  warm  clothing  with  them.  Warm 
weather  comes  but  rarely,  usually  lasts  three  days,  and 
is  accompanied  by  north  wind.  A  period  of  warm 
weather  during  the  summer  months  is  usually  brought  to 
a  close  at  the  evening  of  the  third  day  with  strong  west 
winds,  dense  fog,  and  a  temperature  ranging  from  49° 
to  54°.  The  highest  temperature  recorded  in  San  Fran- 
cisco is  101°,  September  8,  1904;  the  lowest,  29°,  January 
15,  1888;  the  greatest  daily  range  recorded  43°,  June  29, 
1 891,  and  the  mean  daily  rangefor  June,  July,  and  August, 
is  11°  8'.  San  Francisco's  pleasantest  weather  is  after 
the  winds  cease  in  the  fall  and  before  they  begin  in  the 
spring.  This  is  during  the  so-called  rainy  season.  People 
who  do  not  know  California  imagine  that  the  rainy  season 
is  one  of  gloom  when  those  of  the  unfortunate  inhabitants 
who  are  obliged  to  venture  out  do  so  in  peril  of  the  floods. 
It  is,  on  the  contrary,  the  most  delightful  season  of  the 
year.  The  rainfall  is  not  excessive;  the  average  in  San 
Francisco  for  sixty  years  being  only  22.98  inches  per 
annum.  The  rains  begin  after  the  summer  winds  close 
and  come  with  the  soft  southeast  wind.  The  air  is 
warm  and  springlike  and  as  the  Egyptians  rejoice  over 
the  rising  of  the  Nile,  so  the  Californians  are  happy  in  the 


326       The  Beginnings  of  San  Francisco 

coming  of  the  rain.  It  means  for  them  not  only  prosperity 
but  health  and  a  relief  from  the  nervous  tension  caused 
by  a  long  dry  summer.* 

*See  Climatology  of  Ca/i/orntfl,  by  Alexander  G.  McAdie,  Professor  of  Meteor- 
ology, Bulletin  U.  S.  Dept.  Agriculture. 


Notes  327 

Note  21 
LOS  DOLORES 

There  has  been  much  discussion  over  the  original 
location  of  the  mission  of  San  Francisco  and  to  what 
stream  or  body  of  water  was  given  the  name  of  Los 
Dolores.  Franklin  Tuttle  says:  "The  first  site  chosen 
for  the  mission  was  near  the  'lagoon'  back  of  Russian  Hill, 
but  the  winds  were  so  bitter  that  it  was  soon  removed 
to  the  spot  on  the  creek  where  the  crumbling  old  church 
and  some  of  the  houses  that  surrounded  it  still  stand" 
{Hist,  of  California,  p.  86).  Soule,  Gihon,  and  Nesbit  say: 
"On  the  27th  of  June,  1776,  an  expedition  which  had 
started  from  Monterey  arrived  on  the  borders  of  a  small 
lake,  the  same  which  is  now  called  'Washerman's  Lagoon,' 
near  the  sea  shore  from  which  it  was  separated  by  low 
sand-hills.  This  was  situated  towards  the  northern 
extremity  of  the  peninsula  of  San  Francisco  and  the 
surplus  waters  of  which  discharge  themselves  into  the 
strait  that  connects  the  bay  with  the  ocean  and  which 
was  afterwards  called  the  Golden  Gate.*  The  neighbor- 
hood of  this  lake  promised  the  best  place  for  a  mission, 
though  it  was  subsequently  planted  about  two  miles 
to  the  south"  {Annals  of  San  Francisco.  46).  General 
M.  G.  Vallejo  says:  "The  lake  of  Dolores  was  located 
and  could  be  seen  to  the  right  of  the  road  coming  from 
the  presidio  to  the  mission,  between  two  hills"  {Dis- 
curso  Historico.  Centenial  Memoir,  p.  107).  The  editor 
of  the  memoir  (p.  25)  identifies  the  spot  as  the  San  Souci 
valley,  immediately  behind  the  hill  on  which   the   Prot- 

*Washerman's  Lagoon  was  never  connected  with  the  bay.  The  conformation 
of  the  land  forbids  it. 


328       The  Beginnings  of  San  Francisco 

estant  Orphan  Asylum  now  stands.  John  W.  Dwindle 
says:  "I  have  been  to  the  mission  of  Dolores  and  had  an 
interview  with  a  lady  resident  there,  Doiia  Carmen 
Sibrian  de  Bernal.  She  was  born  in  Monterey  in  1804 
was  married  in  1821  to  Jose  Cornelio  Bernal,  and  came 
here  to  reside  the  same  year.  She  is  a  woman  of  great 
vivacity  and  intelligence,  and  states  that  the  tradition 
is  that  when  the  missionary  Fathers  came  here  to  establish 
the  mission,  they  encamped  at  a  pond  which  existed 
where  the  Willows  now  are,  and  to  which  a  great  tide 
creek  made  up  from  the  bay.  I  also  visited  the  site  of 
the  'Willows,'  and  found  that  although  the  soil  had  been 
filled  in  there  several  feet  during  my  own  recollection, 
the  fresh  water  was  still  flowing  out  towards  the  bay" 
(Colonial  History  of  San  Fraiicisco,  p.  xiii).  "The 
Willows"  was  a  resort  of  the  early  fifties  occupying  what 
is  now  the  block  between  Valencia,  Mission,  18th,  and 
19th  streets.  Judge  Dwindle  was  correct  in  his  location 
of  the  Laguna  de  los  Dolores.  Bancroft  says:  "It  will 
be  remembered  that  Anza  applied  the  name  Dolores  to 
an  ojo  de  agua,  a  spring  or  stream  which  he  thought 
capable  of  irrigating  the  mission  lands,  making  no  mention 
of  any  laguna"  (Hist.  California,  i,  294).  Bancroft  is 
mistaken.  Anza  wrote  on  March  28th  that  at  a  little 
more  than  half  a  league  to  the  southeast  of  Laguna 
Pequefia  there  was  a  rather  large  laguna  that  appeared  to 
be  permanent,  on  the  margin  of  which  garden  stuff  could 
be  raised;  and  on  the  29th:  "I  again  went  to  the  Laguna 
de  Manantial  spoken  of  yesterday  and  also  to  the  ojo  de 
agua  which  I  called  Los  Dolores."  Palou  says:  "He 
(Anza)  followed  a  course  along  the  inside  of  the  port, 
going  around  the  land,  coming  out  on  the  shore  of  the 
estero  or  arm  of  the  sea  (bay  of  San  Francisco)  on  the 
southwest  and  arriving  at  the  shore  of  the  bay  which 


Notes  329 

the  mariners  (Ayala's  men)  called  Los  Llorones,*  crossed 
an  arroyo  where  a  great  lake  empties  itself  which  (lake) 
he  called  Los  Dolores,  and  the  site  seemed  to  him  a  good 
one  for  a  mission"  {Noticias  de  Nueva  California  iv,  142). 
Father  Palou  established  the  mission  of  San  Francisco 
and  administered  it  for  eight  years,  and  when  he  took 
the  name  Anza  gave  to  the  ojo  de  agua  and  applied  it 
to  the  Laguna  de  Manantial,  it  stuck. 

I  have  spent  a  good  deal  of  time  over  the  location  of 
the  Arroyo  de  los  Dolores  and  the  Laguna  de  Manantial. 
The  oldest  inhabitant  of  the  Mission  has  no  tradition 
of  there  ever  having  been  a  lake  there.  It  had  been 
filled  up  by  the  natural  wash  from  the  mountains  long 
before  the  oldest  resident  appeared,  and  had  left  no 
memory  behind.  Dwinelle  however,  writing  in  1865, 
found  those  whose  memory  went  back  to  the  early  part 
of  the  century  and  whose  knowledge  of  the  traditions, 
then  fresh,  of  the  foundation  of  the  mission,  was  full 
and  accurate.  To-day  the  memory  even  of  the  "Willows  " 
is  dim  and  fading.  On  the  United  States  Coast  Survey 
map  of  1857  there  appears  on  the  Mission  road  continua- 
tion, about  in  the  neighborhood  of  Eighteenth  street,  a 
piece  of  land  two  hundred  by  three  hundred  and  fifty 
feet,  planted  with  trees  and  marked  "Willows" — a 
roadside  house  with  stables,  sheds,  etc.  This  was  the 
place  referred  to  by  Dofia  Carmen  and  was  about  the 
center  of  the  laguna.  The  only  map  I  have  seen  which 
shows  the  Laguna  de  los  Dolores  is  that  of  La  Perouse. 
This  map  shows  a  large  lake  near  the  shore  of  Mission 
bay  {Ensenada  de  los  Llorones)  and  immediately  west  of 
it  is  shown  the  mission,  which  agrees  with  Palou's  account 
of  the  founding  of  the  mission.     La  Perouse  was  a  com- 


*The  Weepers.     The  name  being  given  by  Aguirre,  second  mate  of  the 
San  Carlos,  because  of  some  Indians  weeping  on  the  shore. 


330       The  Beginnings  of  San  Francisco 

modore  in  the  French  navy  commanding  an  expedition 
sent  to  explore  the  coasts  of  the  Pacific.  He  was  in 
Monterey  in  1786. 

The  Laguna  de  los  Dolores  covered  the  present  city 
blocks  bounded  by  Fifteenth,  Twentieth,  Valencia,  and 
Howard  streets,  now  closely  built  up  with  residences. 
It  was  on  this  filled  land  of  the  ancient  laguna  that  the 
earthquake  of  April  18,  1906,  did  such  damage,  wrecking 
buildings  and  causing  loss  of  life.  The  Arroyo  de  los 
Dolores  had  its  rise  in  Los  Pechos  de  la  Choca  (The 
breasts  of  the  Indian  girl) — now  Twin  Peaks,  and  flowed 
down  about  the  line  Eighteenth  street  into  the  laguna. 
Bayard  Taylor  who  saw  the  Mission  valley  in  1849  says: 
"Three  miles  from  San  Francisco  is  the  old  mission  of 
Dolores  situated  in  a  sheltered  valley  which  is  watered 
by  a  perpetual  stream  fed  from  the  tall  peaks  towards 
the  sea.  *  *  *  Several  former  miners  in  anticipation  of 
a  great  influx  of  emigrants  in  the  spring,  pitched  their 
tents  on  the  best  spots  along  Mission  creek  and  began 
preparing  the  ground  for  gardens.  The  valley  was 
surveyed  and  staked  into  lots  almost  to  the  summit  of 
the  mountains"  {Eldorado  pp.  64,  298-9). 

The  mission  was  established  on  the  spot  designated 
by  Colonel  Anza  and  was  never  changed.  The  mission 
church,  which  was  finished  in  1784,  is  still  in  use  as  a 
parish  church. 


n 


J 

1 


1  r 


n 


ESGUNA  DE  MANANTIAL  (DE  LOS  DOLORES) 


X 


•-  EGINNINGS   OF 

nujdore  in  the  French  navy  commanding 
sent  to  explore  the  coasts  of  the  Pacific 
Monterey  in  1786. 

The  Laguna  de  ios  Dolores  covered  the  pr-  ly 

blocks  bounded  by  Fifteenth,  Twentieth,  Valencia,  and 
Howard   streets,   now  closely  built  up  with   resi  ' 
It  was  on  this  filled  land  of  the  ancient  laguna  t! 
earthquake  of  April  18,  1906,  did  such  damage,  wrecking 
buildings  and  causing  loss  of  life.     The  Arroyo  de  Ios 
Dolores  had  its  rise  in  Los  Pechos  de  la  Choca  (The 
breasts  of  the  Indian  girl) — now  Twin  Peaks,  and  flowed 
down  about  the  line  Eighteenth  street  into  the  laguna. 
Bayard  Taylor  who  saw  the  Mission  valley  in  1849  says: 
**Three  miles  from  San  Francisco  is  the  old  mission    )f 
Dolores  situated  in  a  sheltered  valley  which  is  v 
by  a  perpetual  stream  fed  from  the  tall  peaks  t 

the  sea.  \^^i^m^  MjWTmm^ '^ 'i.W^^^j^''  o^ 

a  great  influx  of  emigrants  in  the  spnng,  pitches 
tents  on  the  best  spots  along  Mission  creek  ano 
preparing    the    ground    for    gardens.     The    valley    was 
surveyed  and  staked  into  lots  almost  to  the  summit  of 
the  mountains"  (Eldorado  pp.  64,  298-9). 

The  mission  was  established  on  the  spot  designated 
by  Colonel  Anza  and  was  never  changed.     The  r 
church,  which  was  finished  in  1784,  is  still  in  u 
parish  church. 


n> 

r 

' 

]  [ 


Notes  331 


Note  22 
SAN  JOSE  DE  GUADALUPE 

The  royal  order  for  the  establishment  of  San  Francisco 
also  included  a  pueblo  in  the  vicinity  under  the  juris- 
diction of  the  presidio.  The  site  selected  was  on  the 
Rio  de  Guadalupe.  Under  orders  of  Governor  Neve, 
Lieutenant  Moraga  took  nine  soldiers,  skilled  in  agri- 
culture, from  the  presidios  of  San  Francisco  and  Monterey, 
five  settlers  {pohladores)  and  one  servant,  numbering 
with  their  families  seventy-eight  persons,  and  with  them 
founded,  on  November  29,  1777,  the  pueblo  of  San  Jose 
de  Guadalupe,  the  first  pueblo  established  in  California. 

I  have  found  no  record  of  the  names  of  these  fifteen 
heads  of  families.  Some  of  them  evidently  did  not 
remain,  for  when,  in  1783,  the  citizens  were  formally 
invested  with  the  title  to  their  lands,  there  were  but 
nine  who  received  the  grants.  Each  settler  received  a 
solar  (house  lot)  of  thirty-three  varas,  and  four  sueries 
(planting  lots)  of  two  hundred  varas  each.  Surrounding 
each  solar  was  an  alley  of  ten  varas  in  width,  and  around 
each  suerte  one  of  four  varas.  Each  also  received  a  yoke 
of  oxen,  two  horses,  two  cows,  one  mule,  two  sheep,  and 
two  goats,  together  with  the  necessary  implements  and 
seed,  all  of  which  was  to  be  paid  for  in  farm  products 
delivered  at  the  royal  warehouse.  Each  settler  was  to 
receive  ten  dollars  per  month  pay  and  soldiers'  rations. 
In  addition  to  all  these  rights,  privileges,  and  emolu- 
ments, each  settler  had  the  use  of  the  common  lands, 
ejidos — the  four  leagues  provided  by  law  for  pueblos 
de  razon  in  the  Indies  —  for  the  pasturing  of  his  cattle; 
and  for  the  common  use  of  all  were  the  rights  of  the  woods 
and  waters. 


332       The  Beginnings  of  San  Francisco 

The  first  earth-roofed  structures  of  palisades  were 
erected  a  little  more  than  a  mile  north  of  the  center  of 
the  modern  city,  but  the  site  was  flooded  by  the  river 
freshets  and  the  pueblo  was  moved  to  higher  ground. 
Thus  the  beginning  of  beautiful  San  Jose,  the  Garden 
City.  It  had  a  guard  of  two  soldiers  from  the  presidio 
of  San  Francisco,  and  owing  to  its  location  and  mild 
climate  it  early  became  the  favorite  place  of  residence 
for  the  retired  soldiers  {invalidos)  of  San  Francisco  and 
Monterey.  Following  is  a  list  of  the  nine  original 
grantees: 

1.  Ignacio  Archuleta  born  in  San  Miguel  de  Hor- 
casitas,  1754.  His  wife  was  Ignacia  Gertrudis  Pacheco, 
daughter  of  the  soldier  Juan  Salvio  Pacheco.  He  was 
the  first  alcalde  of  San  Jose. 

2.  Jose  Manuel  Gonzales;  came  with  Anza;  see  note  12. 

3.  Jose  Tiburcio  Vasquez;  came  with  Anza;  see  note  I2« 

4.  Manuel  Domingo  Amezquita;  came  with  Anza,  see 
note  12. 

5.  Jose  Antonio  Romero;  born  in  Guadalajara  in  1750; 
married  Maria  Petra,  daughter  of  Jose  Antonio  Acebes. 

6.  Bernardo  Rosales;  born  in  Ville  de  Parras,  Durango, 
in  1744;  his  wife  was  Monica,  an  Indian. 

7.  Francisco  Avila;  born  in  Villa  del  Fuente,  Sonora, 
1744.  In  1790  he  was  living  in  San  Jose,  a  widower, 
with  one  son.  He  was  reported  by  the  governor  as  a 
hard  citizen. 

8.  Sebastian  Alvitre,  was  a  soldier  of  Portola's  expedi- 
tion. He  was  an  incorrigible  scamp  and,  like  Avila 
spent  most  of  his  time  in  jail.  About  1786  he  was  sent 
to  Los  Angeles  because  San  Jose  could  no  longer  stand 
him,  and  Los  Angeles  passed  him  on. 


Notes  333 

9.  Claudio  Alvlres;  born  in  Tetauch,  Sonora,  1742; 
wife,  Ana  Maria  Gonzales.  He  was  also  in  constant 
trouble  with  the  authorities  and  they  were  finally  obliged 
to  ship  him  out  of  the  country.  The  condition  {calidad) 
of  these  original  grantees,  as  shown  by  the  padron  of 
1790,  is  as  follows:  Espaiioles  3;  Coyote,  (Half-breed) 
i;  Indio,  i;  Mulato,  2;  Mestizo,  i;  unknown,  i. 


334       The  Beginnings  of  San  Francisco 


Note  23 

DON  FERNANDO  JAVIER 
DE  RIVERA  Y  MONCADA 

The  genesis  of  California  contains  no  more  notable 
figure  than  that  of  Don  Fernando  Javier  de  Rivera  y 
Moncada.  Quarrelsome,  jealous,  self-willed,  and  impa- 
tient of  control  or  advice  as  he  was,  his  abilities  were 
recognized  by  the  government  which  found  constant 
employment  for  them,  though  his  limitations  were 
ascertained  by  one  trial  of  independent  command  in 
California.  He  was  captain  in  command  of  the  presidio 
of  Loreto  in  Baja  California  when  Galvez  organized  the 
first  expedition  and  was  by  him  placed  second  in  command 
to  Portola.  He  was  given  command  of  the  first  land 
division  of  that  expedition  and  was  thus  the  first  explorer 
to  enter  California  by  land.  On  the  march  to  Monterey 
Rivera  commanded  the  rear  guard.  When  Fages  was 
recalled  in  September  1773,  Rivera  was  appointed  to 
succeed  him  and  assumed  command  of  the  California 
establishments  May  24,  1774.  He  had  been  captain 
of  presidial  troops  for  seventeen  years;  he  had  resented 
the  preference  shown  Fages  by  Portola,  both  officers 
of  the  regular  army,  and  in  relieving  Fages  of  his  command 
at  Monterey  his  manner  was  arrogant  and  his  demands 
peremptory.  The  padres  who  found  Fages  difficult 
now  found  Rivera  impossible.  He  was  aggressive, 
overbearing,  and  hard  to  get  along  with.  He  would 
neither  listen  to  advice  nor  permit  any  suggestions 
whatever  regarding  the  affairs  of  the  province,  and  he 
opposed  the  padres  in  everything.  The  viceroy,  Bucareli, 
requested  Rivera  to  keep  on  terms  with  the  priests,  as 


Notes  335 

friction  between  the  military  and  religious  organizations 
retarded  the  conversion  of  the  natives.  Bucareli's  sug- 
gestions were  unheeded  and  on  July  20,  1776,  the  viceroy 
ordered  Felipe  de  Neve,  governor  of  the  Californias  to 
take  up  his  residence  at  Monterey.  Rivera  was  ordered 
to  Loreto  and  given  the  post  of  lieutenant-governor  of 
Baja  California.  In  1781  Rivera  was  detailed  to  enlist 
recruits  for  the  military  service  of  California  and  settlers 
for  the  proposed  pueblo  on  the  Porciuncula  (Los  Angeles). 
This  was  his  last  service.  He  recruited  his  men  in 
Sonora  and  in  June  1781  arrived  at  the  junction  of  the 
Gila  and  Colorado  with  forty-two  soldados  de  cuera  for 
the  California  presidios.  These  with  their  families  he 
sent  across  the  desert  to  San  Gabriel  under  a  guard  of 
veteran  soldiers,  and  with  a  personal  escort  of  ten  to 
twelve  men  remained  in  camp  on  the  left  bank  of  the 
Colorado  opposite  the  mission  of  La  Purisima  Con- 
cepcion  to  await  the  return  of  the  guard  sent  with  the 
recruits.  On  July  17th  the  Yumas  rose,  and  under  the 
leadership  of  Palma  destroyed  the  missions  of  La  Purisi- 
ma Concepcion  and  San  Pedro  y  San  Pablo  de  Bicuiier, 
and  then  crossed  the  river  and  slew  Rivera  and  all  his 
men.  Thus  perished  a  brave  and  gallant  officer,  an 
indefatigable  explorer,  and  one  of  the  most  famous  of 
the  founders  of  California. 


336       The  Beginnings  of  San  Francisco 

Note  24 
THE  COLORADO  RIVER 

In  February  1540  Francisco  Vasquez  de  Coronado 
started  from  Compostela  at  the  head  of  an  army  of  three 
hundred  Spaniards  and  eight  hundred  Indians  to  conquer 
the  Seven  Cities  of  Cibola.  To  co-operate  with  the  army 
and  to  carry  the  heavy  baggage,  a  fleet  of  two  vessels 
sailed  from  Acapulco  May  9th  under  command  of  Her- 
nando de  Alarcon  whose  instructions  were  to  sail  as  close 
to  the  coast  as  possible  and  keep  in  communication  with 
the  army.  For  a  time  the  course  of  the  army  and  that 
of  the  ships  was  parallel,  but  from  San  Hieronimo  de 
los  Corazones  (modern  Ures)  the  route  of  the  army  was 
north,  and  from  Cibola  (Zuiii)  it  was  east-northeast  while 
the  trend  of  the  coast  was  northwest. 

Alarcon  sailed  to  the  head  of  the  gulf  of  California 
and  discovered  that  California  was  not  an  island,  as  had 
been  supposed,  but  a  peninsula.  He  also  came  on 
August  26,  1540,  at  the  head  of  the  gulf,  to  a  great  river 
which  at  its  mouth  was  two  leagues  wide.  Alarcon  gave 
the  river  the  name  Rio  de  Buena  Guia — Good  Guide 
river,  and  he  ascended  it,  he  says,  eighty-five  leagues. 

After  the  departure  of  Coronado's  army  from  Corazones 
Captain  Melchior  Diaz,  who  had  been  left  by  Coronado 
in  command  of  the  town,  took  twenty-five  of  the  most 
efficient  men  and  went  to  find  the  coast  and  the  ships  of 
Alarcon.  Taking  guides,  Diaz  traveled  north  and  west 
and  in  a  journey  of  about  one  hundred  and  fifty  leagues, 
came,  perhaps  in  October  1540,  to  a  province  of  exceed- 
ingly tall  and  strong  men  living  on  a  great  river,  which 
by  reason  of  a  practice  these  men  had  of  carrying  in 
cold   weather   a   firebrand    (tison)    to   warm   themselves, 


Notes  337 

the  Spaniards  called  Rio  del  Tison* — River  of  the  Fire- 
brand. Diaz  probably  traveled  by  Horcasitas  and 
Caborca,  thence  across  the  desert  of  the  Papagueria  by 
the  route  afterwards  taken  by  Kino  in  1701  and  by  Anza 
in  1774,  by  way  of  the  wells  of  San  Eduardo  Baipia; 
San  Luis  de  Bacapa — Anza  calls  it  Quitobac,  the  Papago 
name — to  San  Marcelo  de  Sonoitac;  thence  via  the 
Camino  del  Diablo  to  the  Colorado.  Quitobac  may  be 
found  on  the  map  of  Mexico  and  it  is  connected  with 
the  Gulf  of  California  by  a  little  railroad  running  to 
San  Jorge's  bay.  The  distance  traveled  by  Diaz  to  the 
Colorado  is  about  one  hundred  and  thirty-eight  leagues. 

Diaz  learned  from  these  Indians  (Yumas)  that  there 
had  been  ships  at  a  point  three  days'  journey  down  the 
river  and  proceeding  thither  found  written  on  a  tree: 
"Alarcon  reached  this  place;  there  are  letters  at  the  foot 
of  this  tree."  Digging  up  the  letters  Diaz  learned  that 
Alarcon  had  waited  long  for  news  of  the  army  and  that 
he  had  gone  back  with  the  ships  to  New  Spain,  because 
he  was  unable  to  proceed  farther  since  this  sea  was  a 
bay,  which  was  formed  by  the  Isle  of  the  Marquis  (Cor- 
tes),f  which  is  called  California;  and  it  was  explained 
that  California  was  not  an  island  but  a  point  of  the 
mainland  forming  the  other  side  of  that  gulf. 

Passing  up  the  river  five  or  six  days'  journey  Diaz, 
with  the  help  of  his  Indian  allies,  crossed  it  on  rafts  and 
continued  his  exploration.  Here  he  met  with  a  grievous 
accident  and  his  men  retreated  carrying  their  dying 
captain  and  fighting  with  hostile  Indians.  Diaz  lived 
twenty  days  and  after  his  death  his  men  returned  to 
Sonora. 

In  1605  Juan  de  Onate  reached  the  mouth  of  the 
Colorado,  coming  overland  from  Santa  Fe,  and  named  it 

*See  Anza's  description  of  the  Yumas,  chapter  iii. 

tCortes  was  given  the  title  of  Marques  del  Valle  de  Oaxaca. 


338       The  Beginnings  of  San  Francisco 

Rio  Grande  de  Buena  Esperanza  (Good  Hope).  In  his 
journey  he  crossed  that  branch  of  the  river  now  known 
as  Colorado  Chiquito  (Little  Colorado)  and  named  it 
Rio  Colorado  a  name  which  was  later  extended  to  the 
principal  river. 


Notes  339 


Note  25 
LIEUTENANT  WILKES 

Lieutenant  Charles  Wilkes,  United  States  Navy, 
commanding  a  fleet  of  six  vessels  engaged  on  a  scientific 
exploring  expedition,  reached  San  Francisco  October 
19,  1 841.  From  the  Columbia  river  he  had  sent  the 
sloop-of-war  Vincennes  under  command  of  Lieutenant 
Ringgold  who,  from  August  20th,  had  been  exploring 
the  bay  and  San  Joaquin  and  Sacramento  rivers.  An- 
other party  under  Lieutenant  Emmons  had  been  sent 
overland  from  Oregon  and  reached  Sutter's  fort  October 
19th.  Wilkes'  Narrative,  that  part  of  it  relating  to 
California,  is  a  mass  of  misinformation  concerning  the 
climate,  soil,  and  people.  His  criticism  of  the  inhabitants 
appears  to  have  been  drawn  from  all  the  Ill-natured 
accounts  of  disgruntled  foreigners  who  had  gone  before, 
and  he  seems  to  accept  for  truth  any  statement  dis- 
creditable to  the  people,  however  absurd  His  statements 
are  mostly  hearsay,  for  his  experience  among  the  people 
was  confined  to  a  trip  of  two  or  three  days  to  Santa 
Clara  and  San  Jose  and  back  to  San  Francisco.  He 
says  (vol.  v,  p.  153):  "At  Yerba  Buena  there  was  a 
similar  absence  of  all  authority.  The  only  officer  was 
the  alcalde  who  dwells  at  the  mission  of  Nostra  Senora 
de  los  Dolores  some  three  miles  off".  He  was  full  of 
self-importance,  making  up  for  what  he  wanted  in  the 
eyes  of  others  by  a  high  estimate  of  his  own  dignity. 
I  could  find  no  one  who  could  furnish  me  with  his  name, 
which  must  be  my  apology  for  not  recording  It  in  this 
place. "  This  is  ridiculous.  The  alcalde  (juez  de  paz) 
was  Don  Francisco  Guerrero,  a  man  as  well  known  as 
any  in  northern  California;  owner  of  Rancho  Laguna  de 


340       The  Beginnings  of  San  Francisco 

la  Merced  and  a  man  of  sufficiently  high  standing  among 
Americans  to  be  elected  sub-prefect  of  the  district, 
1849-1850.  Again  Wilkes  says:  "The  state  of  society 
here  is  exceedingly  loose;  envy,  hatred,  and  malice 
predominate  in  almost  every  breast,  and  the  people  are 
wretched  under  their  present  rulers;  female  virtue,  I 
regret  to  say,  is  also  at  a  low  ebb;  and  the  coarse  and 
lascivious  dances  which  meet  the  plaudits  of  the  lookers- 
on  show  the  degraded  tone  of  manners  that  exists" 
(p.  198).  "They  have  a  reputation  for  hospitality,  but 
will  take  money  if  offered  through  a  servant,  and  will 
swindle  a  guest  should  he  wish  to  hire  or  buy  anything." 
His  own  experience  during  the  only  time  he  was  brought 
in  personal  contact  with  them  should  make  his  cheek 
burn  with  shame  for  writing  such  stuff.  This  very 
censorious  gentleman  made,  as  I  have  said,  a  trip  to 
Santa  Clara  and  San  Jose,  and  records  the  hospitable 
and  courteous  treatment  he  received  throughout.  Going 
in  his  ship's  launch  to  the  Embarcadero  de  Santa  Clara 
(now  Alviso)  he  there  took  horse  for  the  mission,  six 
miles  distant.  It  being  late  at  night  he  stopped  with 
his  companions  about  midway  at  the  rancho  house  of 
one  of  the  Peraltas.  The  family  were  in  bed  and  asleep, 
but  after  considerable  hammering  the  officers  succeeded 
in  arousing  Peralta,  who  is  described  as  a  large  Californian 
over  six  feet  in  height  with  the  countenance  of  a  ruffian. 
Making  known  their  wants  they  were  courteously  invited 
to  enter  while  Peralta  awakened  his  wife  and  daughters 
who  proceeded  to  get  up  a  hot  supper  of  beef,  tortillas, 
tea,  etc.,  most  appetizing  and  welcome  to  the  weary 
travelers,  while  the  ranchero  looked  after  their  horses. 
While  the  mother  was  serving  the  supper  the  daughters 
changed  the  beds,  and  on  finishing  their  supper  the  guests 
were  shown  to  their  room  where  comfortable  beds  with 
fresh  sheets  awaited  them.     The  mother  and  daughters 


Notes  341 

had  given  up  their  beds  and  bestowed  themselves  else- 
where; but  so  quietly  was  this  done  the  guests  were  un- 
aware of  it  until  morning.  A  comfortable  breakfast 
awaited  their  rising,  after  which  they  set  out  on  their 
journey.  There  were  eight  of  them ;  and  there  was  nothing 
to  pay.  Arriving  at  the  mission  of  Santa  Clara  they 
were  hospitably  received  by  the  administrador  and  the 
priest,  Father  Mercado.  Wilkes  says  that  the  adminis- 
trador, tired  of  his  own  name,  had  taken  the  name  of 
his  wife,  Aliza,  one  of  the  most  famous  in  early  times. 
Sefiora  Aliza  entertained  the  visitors  with  a  most  delicious 
repast,  prepared  with  her  own  hands;  after  which  they 
went  to  the  pueblo  of  San  Jose.  Here  they  were  received 
by  the  alcalde  (sub-prefect)  whom  Wilkes  calls  "Don 
Pedro";  says  he  was  a  Frenchman  who  had  been  twenty 
years  in  the  country,  and  who,  he  says,  had  the  appearance 
of  a  French  pastry  cook.  This  was  Don  Antonio  Sufiol 
who  was  a  Spaniard — however  much  he  may  have  looked, 
in  the  eyes  of  Commander  Wilkes,  like  a  French  pastry 
cook.  They  were  entertained  by  Sufiol  and  returned 
to  Santa  Clara  for  more  of  "Sefiora  Aliza's"  deliciously 
cooked  food,  and  thence  by  horse  to  Yerba  Buena.  The 
administrator  of  Santa  Clara  who  had  "taken  his  wife's 
name,"  was  Don  Ignacio  Alviso  who  came,  a  child  of 
three  years,  with  his  father.  Corporal  Domingo  Alviso, 
with  the  Anza  expedition.  His  wife's  name  was  Marga- 
rita Bernal. 

The  foregoing  will  give  some  idea  regarding  the  accuracy 
of  this  accomplished  officer's  observation  of  a  people 
who  received  him  and  his  officers  everywhere  with 
courteous  hospitality,  who  permitted  him  to  enter  their 
harbors,  ascend  their  rivers  and  spy  out  the  weakness 
of  their  hold  upon  the  country,  and  the  care  with  which 
he  prepared  his  report  to  his  government.  I  have  given 
but  few  of  his  comments  on  the  inhabitants;  they  are  too 


342       The  Beginnings  of  San  Francisco 

absurd.  His  miscalling  of  Spanish  names  is  inexcusable 
in  the  work  of  an  educated  officer.  The  Carquines 
straits  he  calls  Kaquines;  the  Cosumnes  is  Cosmenes; 
theMoquelumne  is  the  Mogueles;  Natividad  is  Nativetes; 
Jose  de  la  Guerra  y  Noriega  is  Sefior  Noniga;  San  Joaquin 
is  San  Joachin,  etc.  He  asserts  that  the  land  between 
San  Francisco  and  San  Jose  is  unfit  for  cultivation;  a 
large  part  of  the  Sacramento  valley  is  undoubtedly 
barren  and  unproductive,  and  must  forever  remain  so; 
the  country  was  involved  in  anarchy  and  confusion, 
without  laws  or  security  of  person  or  property.  With 
California  is  associated  the  idea  of  a  fine  climate.  *'This 
at  least  was  the  idea  with  which  I  entered  its  far-famed 
port;  but  I  soon  found  from  the  reports  of  the  officers 
that  their  experience  altogether  contradicted  the  received 
opinion."  Only  a  small  portion  of  the  country  offers 
any  agricultural  advantages.  A  Californian  is  content 
with  coarse  fare,  provided  he  can  get  enough  strong 
drink  to  minister  to  his  thirst.  "The  palm  for  intem- 
perance was,  I  think,  generally  given  to  the  padres." 
The  report  of  Wilkes  was  very  much  quoted  by  writers 
of  the  period,  and  of  the  accuracy  of  his  observation 
and  the  justness  of  his  comments  the  reader  can  judge. 


Notes  343 

Note  26 

BUCARELI 

El  Bailio  Frey  Don  Antonio  Maria  Bucareli  y  Ursiia 
lieutenant-general  of  the  royal  armies,  was  a  nobleman 
of  the  highest  rank,  a  soldier  of  distinction,  and  the  forty- 
sixth  viceroy  of  New  Spain.  His  address  of  El  Bailio  Frey 
is  that  of  a  knight  commander  of  Malta.  Bucareli  was  not 
only  a  great  but  a  good  man  and  the  term  of  his  rule 
was  the  happiest  that  New  Spain  had  experienced. 
Peace  and  prosperity  reigned  and  the  country  took  long 
strides  in  advance.  He  took  the  oath  of  office  September 
3,  1771,  and  his  untimely  death  April  9,  1779,  spread 
sorrow  throughout  the  land,  for  he  had  won  the  title  of 
Virey  amado  por  la  pax  de  su  gobierno — Viceroy  beloved 
for  the  peace  of  his  government. 


344       The  Beginnings  of  San  Francisco 

Note  27 
CONCEPCION  ARGUELLO 

Nicolai  Petrovlch  Rezanof,  chamberlain  of  the  tsar, 
appointed  ambassador  extraordinary  to  the  court  of 
Japan  and  imperial  inspector  of  the  Russian  American 
Company,  arrived  in  Sitka  in  September  1805  where 
he  found  the  Russian  colony  in  a  pitiful  state  of  starvation, 
sickness,  and  misery.  In  the  hope  of  obtaining  provisions 
from  the  Spanish  settlements  of  California  he  loaded 
a  small  ship  with  a  cargo  of  goods  likely  to  be  pleasing 
to  the  Californians  and  sailed  for  San  Francisco  where 
he  arrived  on  the  4th  of  April  1806.  The  comandante, 
Don  Jose  Argiiello,  was  absent  at  Monterey  and  had 
left  his  son,  Don  Luis,  then  an  ensign,  in  command. 
Rezanof  was  hospitably  received  and  entertained  by  the 
comandante  and  during  the  long  negotiations  with  the 
provincial  government  which  followed  was  received  as 
a  friend  by  the  Argiiello  family.  Among  the  lovely 
daughters  of  the  comandante.  Dona  Concepcion  had  the 
name  of  being  the  beauty  of  California.  She  was  just 
over  sixteen  and  in  a  country  where  girls  married  at 
thirteen  might  be  considered  as  being  at  the  height  of 
her  loveliness.  The  advent  of  the  distinguished  and 
handsome  courtier  into  her  little  uneventful  world  natur- 
ally impressed  the  girl.  Rezanof,  though  no  longer 
youthful,  and  a  widower,  was  of  fine  presence  and  had 
a  very  attractive  face.  He  fell  desperately  in  love  with 
the  pretty  Dona  Concepcion  and  his  passion  being 
reciprocated  he  demanded  of  Don  Jose  the  hand  of  his 
daughter.  Finding  his  child's  happiness  at  stake,  Don 
Jose  gave  a  reluctant  consent,  providing,  of  course,  that 
Rezanof  obtained  the  consent  of  his  imperial  master. 
The  consent  of  the  friars  was  more  difficult,  but  with 
the  combined  effort  of  all  it  was  finally  obtained  with 


Notes  345 

the  understanding  that  the  betrothal  should  be  kept 
secret  until  the  decision  of  the  pope  should  be  known, 
Rezanof  being  of  the  Greek  church.  With  the  signing 
of  the  betrothal  contract  Rezanof  found  himself,  as  a 
member  of  the  family,  in  much  better  condition  for 
obtaining  the  supplies  he  needed,  and  in  May  sailed  for 
Sitka  with  a  full  cargo  of  grain  and  other  provisions  for 
his  starving  colonists. 

In  September  Rezanof  set  out  from  Okhotsk  in  Siberia 
for  an  overland  trip  to  St.  Petersburg,  to  report  to  the 
tsar  and  obtain  his  consent  to  a  marriage  with  the  fair 
Californian.  Weakened  by  the  hardship  of  the  past 
year  he  was  unable  to  endure  the  long  journey.  He 
was  seized  with  a  violent  fever  and  died  at  Krasnoyarsk, 
in  central  Siberia. 

In  far  California  Dona  Concepcion  waited  for  her 
lover's  return.  The  years  passed  and  no  word  came. 
Constant  to  his  memory  she  refused  to  listen  to  words 
of  love  from  other  suitors,  but  devoted  her  life  to  works 
of  charity.  After  the  death  of  her  parents  she  lived  with 
the  De  la  Guerra  family  in  Santa  Barbara.  Here  Sir 
George  Simpson  met  her  in  1843  and  from  him  she  learned, 
it  is  said,  the  fate  of  her  lover.  Simpson  says  of  her: 
"Notwithstanding  the  ravages  of  an  interval  of  time 
which  had  tripled  her  years,  we  could  still  discover  in 
her  face  and  figure,  in  her  manner  and  conversation, 
the  remains  of  those  charms  which  had  won  for  the 
youthful  beauty  Von  Rezanof's  enthusiastic  love."* 
When  the  Dominicans  founded  their  convent  of  St. 
Catherine  at  Benicia,  Dofia  Concepcion  entered  that 
establishment,  and  there  she  died  in  1858  at  the  age  of 
sixty-seven.  She  enjoyed  the  respect  and  veneration 
of  all  who  knew  her  and  there  were  few  families  who 
could  not  remember  some  act  of  kindness  at  her  hands. 

*Simpson:     Narrative,  ITJ. 


346       The  Beginnings  of  San  Francisco 

Note  28 
VALLEJO 

During  the  session  of  the  first  legislature  of  California, 
1850,  the  tediousness  of  daily  debate  over  appropriations, 
the  dry-as-dust  reports  of  highway  commissions,  and 
all  the  weary  detail  of  law  making,  were  relieved  and 
illumined  by  a  tale  of  romance  which  tinged  with  roseate 
hue  the  somber  twilight  of  legislative  halls.  The  in- 
novation came  in  the  unwonted  form  of  a  report  of  a 
committee  on  the  derivation  and  definition  of  the  names 
of  the  counties  of  California,  by  its  chairman,  Mariano 
Guadalupe  Vallejo. 

Said  the  distinguished  senator:  (in  part)  "The  follow- 
ing circumstance  which  happened  during  the  first  months 
of  the  foundation  of  San  Luis  Obispo  is  insignificant 
in  itself,  but  the  writer  cannot  help  but  dwell  upon  it  for 
a  moment  with  the  most  tender  feelings  of  the  heart. 

"As  a  matter  of  course  at  that  period,  few  families 
had  as  yet  immigrated  to  this  country  and  the  female 
sex  was  an  oasis  in  the  desert.  The  writer's  father  was 
one  of  the  many  who  emigrated  here  in  bachelorship, 
and  while  sojourning  in  San  Luis  Obispo  he  unexpectedly 
met  with  a  lady  who  was  in  travail,  and  about  to  bring 
a  new  being  into  the  world;  and  as  there  was  no  one, 
save  her  husband,  to  assist  her,  he  acted  as  tenedor 
(holder).  The  lady  was  safely  delivered  of  a  girl,  where- 
upon the  tenedor,  then  a  young  man,  solicited  of  the 
parents  the  hand  of  their  child  and  a  formal  agreement 
ensued  between  the  parties,  conditional,  that  if  at  a 
mature  age,  the  girl  would  willingly  consent  to  the  union 
the  ceremony  would  be  duly  performed.  *  *  *  Time 
rolled     by    and    year    after    year    transpired    until    the 


MARIANO  GUADALUPE  VALLEJO 
Born  in  Monterey,  July  7,  1808;  died  in  Sonoma,  January 
18,  1890.  Comandante  del  Frontera  del  Norte;  Comandante- 
general  of  California;  Director  of  colonization;  favored 
American  domination;  member  of  the  Constitutional  Conven- 
tion and  of  the  California  Senate. 


■46        liiE  Beginnings  of  San   1  co 

Note  28 
VALLEJO 

During  the  session  of  the  first  legislature  of  California, 
1850,  the  tediousness  of  daily  debate  over  appropriations, 
the  dry-as-dust  reports  of  highway  commissions,  and 
all  the  weary  detail  of  law  making,  were  relieved  and 
illumined  by  a  tale  of  romance  which  tinged  with  roseate 
hue  the  somber  twilight  of  legislative  halls.  The  in- 
novation came  in  the  unwonted  form  of  a  report  of  a 
committee  on  the  derivation  and  definition  of  the  names 
of  the  counties  of  California,  by  its  chairman,  Mariano 
Guadalupe  Vallejo. 

Said  the  di^fflMi^M?!^^  Wm)  "The  follow- 
ing cife!fW^rfM°^iN^lil9^?5i?^^^  ffi'^  months 

m  itseJ^j3g^^ftjW^9%ffi^5ift9itiJa^l;Botontl&KUii*}dAn  it  for 
a  moment  with  the  mosbJtfii8d<briofi4€biag§o(ifiBub^  heart. 
"As  a  matter  of  course  at  that  period,  few  families 
had  as  yet  immigrated  to  this  country  and  the  female 
sex  was  an  oasis  in  the  desert.  The  writer's  father  was 
one  of  the  many  who  emigrated  here  in  bachelorship, 
and  while  sojourning  in  San  Luis  Obispo  he  unexpected! v 
met  with  a  lady  who  was  in  travail,  and  about  to  brim 
a  new  being  into  the  world;  and  as  there  was  no  on- 
save  her  husband,  to  assist  her,  he  acted  as  tenz-dy 
(holder).  The  lady  was  safely  delivered  of  a  girl,  whei'. 
upon  the  tenedor,  then  a  young  man,  solicited  of  th< 
parents  the  hand  of  their  child  and  a  formal  agreemeni 
ensued  between  the  parties,  conditional,  that  if  at  .^ 
mature  age,  the  girl  would  willingly  consent  to  the  uniin 
the  ceremony  would  be  duly  performed.  ♦  *  ♦  Tin)-- 
rolled    by    and    year    after    year    transpired    until    i! 


Notes  347 

muchacha  (girl)  had  reached  her  fourteenth  year,  when 
the  marriage  took  place  and  the  offspring  of  that  union 
has  now  the  honor  to  present  his  readers  with  this  short 
biographical  sketch."* 

Ignacio  Vicente  Ferrer  Vallejo  was  born  in  La  Hacienda 
de  los  Santos  de  las  Caiiadas  In  the  bishopric  of  Guadala- 
jara, Mexico,  July  29,  1748.  He  was  the  son  of  Geronimo 
Vallejo  and  Antonia  Gomez,  his  wife.  He  enlisted  under 
Rivera  in  1773  and  came  to  California  with  Lieutenant 
Ortega  in  1774,  serving  under  that  officer  at  San  Diego. 
In  1789  he  was  made  a  corporal  and  in  1805  a  sergeant; 
that  being  as  high  as  he  rose,  though  in  1806  he  was 
named  sargento  distinguido.  He  was  married  in  Santa 
Barbara  February  18,  1791,  to  the  young  woman  at  whose 
birth  he  so  fortunately  assisted,  Maria  Antonia  Isabel 
de  Lugo,  daughter  of  Francisco  de  Lugo  and  Juana 
Villanauel  his  wife.  He  died  in  Monterey  In  1831.  His 
children  were: 

i.  Maria  Isldora,  born,  1791;  married  Mariano  So- 
beranes. 

ii.  Maria  Josefa,  born  1793;  married  (i)  Jose  Francisco 
Alvarado  and  became  the  mother  of  Juan  Bautlsta 
Alvarado,  governor  of  California.  After  her  husband's 
death  she  married  Jose  Ralmundo  Estrada. 

iii.  Jose  Ignacio,  born,  1795. 

iv.  Jose  de  Jesus,  born,  1797;  married  Soledad  Sanchez* 

V.  Juana  Maria,  born,  1799. 

vi.  Maria  Magadelena,  born,  July  23,  1803. 

vii.  Maria  Prudencia,  born.  May  20,  1805;  married  Jose 
Amesti. 

viii.  Mariano  Guadalupe,  born  In  Monterey  July  7, 
1808. 

^Senate  Journal.     First  Session,  1850.  p.  536. 


348       The  Beginnings  of  San  Francisco 

ix.  Maria  Encarnaclon,  born  March  25,  1809;  married 
Captain  J.  B.  R.  Cooper. 

X.  Maria  Rosalia,  born,  181 1;  married  Jacob  P.  Leese. 

xi.  Salvador,  born,  1813;  married  Maria  de  la  Luz 
Carrillo. 

xii.  Maria  de  Jesus,  born,  1815. 

xiii.  Juan  Bautista,  born,  1817. 

Mariano  Guadalupe  Vallejo,  born  in  Monterey  July 
7,  1808;  died  in  Sonoma  January  18,  1890;  married  in 
San  Diego  March  6,  1832,  Francisca  Benicia  Carrillo, 
one  of  the  most  beautiful  of  the  handsome  daughters 
of  Don  Joaquin  Carrillo  and  Maria  Ignacia  Lopez 
his  wife. 

Vallejo  entered  the  military  service  as  cadet  of  the 
Monterey  company  January  8,  1824.  He  was  made 
alferez  (ensign)  July  30,  1827;  lieutenant  June  22,  1835; 
captain  July  9,  1838;  lieutenant-colonel  of  calvary  May 
2,  1842.  In  1838  he  was  made  comandante-general  of 
California;  and  previous  to  that  had  been  made  coman- 
dante  militar  del  Frontera  del  Norte,  with  headquarters 
at  Sonoma.  A  commission  as  colonel  of  cavalry  was 
sent  him  September  9,  1846.* 

The  life  of  young  Vallejo  at  Monterey  was  not  different 
from  other  boys  of  his  class.  With  young  Castro,  Al- 
varado,  Estrada,  and  the  rest,  he  went  to  school  to  the 
soldier  schoolmasters  and  as  he  grew  older  his  desire  for 
knowledge  craved  other  works  than  the  lives  of  the 
saints  and  the  doctrina  Christiana.  Governor  Sola  took 
much  interest  in  the  boys  and  helped  them  to  obtain 
a  few  books  of  a  more  secular  nature,  and  as  they  grew 
older  they  made  use  of  their  opportunities  in  procuring 
from  visiting  ship-masters  such  books  as  could  be  had 

*He  also  held  a  commission  of  colonel  under  the  independency  of  1836. 


Notes  349 

which  they  carefully  concealed  from  the  vigilant  eyes 
of  the  padres  ever  on  guard  to  confiscate  and  destroy 
books  of  heretical  tendency. 

In  1830  Vallejo  was  assigned  to  the  San  Francisco 
company  of  which  he  was  made  comandante  in  1831. 
He  made  several  campaigns  against  the  Indians  and  in 
1834  was  sent  as  comisionado  to  secularize  the  mission 
of  San  Francisco  Solano,  He  was  a  member  of  the 
territorial  diputacion  in  1827,  and  for  several  years 
thereafter,  and  in  1834  was  granted  the  Petaluma  rancho. 
In  1835  Vallejo  was  instructed  to  lay  out  a  pueblo  at 
the  Solano  mission,  was  made  director  of  colonization  at 
the  north,  and  was  authorized  to  issue  grants  of  land  to 
settlers;  the  scheme  being  to  prevent,  by  Spanish  coloni- 
zation, further  extension  of  the  Russian  establishment 
of  Ross.  Vallejo  laid  out  the  pueblo  and  gave  it  the 
Indian  name  of  the  valley,  Sonoma — Valley  of  the  Moon. 
He  labored  very  earnestly  to  establish  his  pueblo  and 
succeeded  in  attracting  a  number  of  families  to  it.  He 
transferred  the  San  Francisco  company  to  Sonoma  and 
also  organized  a  company  of  about  fifty  Indians  whom 
he  drilled  in  the  manual  of  arms.  After  the  neglect  of 
the  Mexican  government  to  pay  its  soldiers  had  caused 
the  presidial  companies  to  disband,  Vallejo  supported 
his  military  establishment  for  several  years  at  his  own 
expense.  In  1834  he  took  the  preliminary  steps  for 
establishing  a  civil  government  at  San  Francisco  and  on 
January  i,  1835,  turned  over  to  the  ayuntamiento  the 
control  of  civil  affairs  of  that  pueblo.  He  was  untiring 
in  his  efforts  to  settle  and  develop  the  northern  frontier 
and  through  his  wise  management  and  influence  with 
the  Indian  chiefs  the  peace  of  the  frontier  was  rarely 
broken.  In  the  rising  of  Alvarado  and  Castro  against 
Gutierrez  he  took  no  active  part,  though  his  sympathies 
were  with  his  nephew,  Alvarado,  and  he  accepted  oihce 


350       The  Beginnings  of  San  Francisco 

under  the  government  formed  by  him.  He  was  now 
(1837)  the  foremost  man  in  California  as  he  was  one  of 
the  richest.  Over  the  hills  of  his  princely  estate  of 
Petaluma  roamed  ten  thousand  cattle,  four  to  six  thousand 
horses,  and  many  thousand  sheep.  He  occupied  a  baro- 
nial castle  on  the  plaza  at  Sonoma,  where  he  entertained 
all  who  came  with  most  royal  hospitality  and  few  travelers 
of  note  came  to  California  without  visiting  him.  At 
Petaluma  he  had  a  great  ranch  house  called  La  Hacienda 
and  on  his  home  farm,  Lachryma  Montis  (Tear  of  the 
Mountain),  he  built,  about  1849,  a  modern  frame  house 
where  he  spent  the  later  years  of  his  life. 

Vallejo's  attitude  towards  the  Russians  at  Fort  Ross 
and  Bodega  was  firm  and  dignified.  He  maintained  that 
the  Russians  were  on  California  soil  and  he  notified  the 
Russian  manager,  Rotchef,  that  while  the  use  of  the 
port  of  Bodega  by  the  Russians  was  tolerated,  if  he 
permitted  foreigners  to  land  and  enter  the  country  in 
defiance  of  law  he  must  not  be  surprised  if  he  found 
Mexican  troops  stationed  there. 

Vallejo  also  objected  to  Sutter's  establishing  an  in- 
dependent principality  in  the  Sacramento  valley  and  his 
assumption  of  authority  to  wage  war  upon  the  natives, 
to  grant  passports,  and  to  exercise  other  prerogatives 
of  sovereignty.  This  made  Sutter  very  angry  and  he 
announced  that  if  he  were  interfered  with  he  would  not 
only  defend  himself  but  would  declare  the  independence 
of  California  from  the  Mexican  rule. 

We  have  seen  (in  chapter  xi)  the  ineflfectual  attempts 
of  Vallejo  to  revive  the  military  establishment  of  Cali- 
fornia. He  had  cause  to  be  dissatisfied  with  the  adminis- 
tration of  Alvarado,  who,  giving  himself  up  to  luxurious 
ease  and  dissipation  had  largely  left  the  management 
of  affairs  to  the  politicians  that  surrounded  him.  Juan 
Bautista  Alvarado  was  a  young  man  of  excellent  ability, 


Notes  351 

fairly  well  educated  for  his  time,  of  handsome  person  and 
courteous  manners,  and  of  great  popularity  and  Influence 
with  all  classes.  He  was  born  in  Monterey  February 
14,  1809,  and  was  son  of  Jose  Francisco  Alvarado  and 
Maria  Josefa  Vallejo,  and  his  grandfather,  Juan  Bautista 
Alvarado,  was  a  soldier  of  Portola's  expedition,  1769. 
Alvarado's  marriage  to  Doiia  Martina  Castro,  daughter  of 
Francisco  Maria  Castro,  at  the  mission  of  Santa  Clara 
August  24,  1839,  was  a  notable  event  and  was  attended 
by  all  the  great  in  social  and  political  life.  Alvarado, 
who  was  then  governor,  was  ill  at  Monterey  and  was 
represented  by  his  half-brother,  Jose  Antonio  Estrada, 
who  as  his  proxy,  stood  at  the  altar  with  the  bride. 
The  governor  was  at  this  time  thirty  years  of  age,  and  of 
most  distinguished  appearance;  but  already  the  habit 
of  excessive  drinking  was  upon  him  and  it  soon  became 
so  confirmed  that  he  was  frequently  unable,  through 
"Illness,"  to  perform  his  official  duties. 

Disappointed  in  his  expectation  of  reform  In  the 
government  and  In  the  failure  of  what  he  considered 
necessary  measures  for  the  national  defence,  Vallejo 
wrote  the  supreme  government  in  1841  giving  his  opinion 
of  Alvarado's  rule,  stating  his  belief  that  the  country 
was  going  to  ruin,  and  asking  to  be  relieved  of  his  com- 
mand. He  recommended  that  the  offices  of  governor 
and  comandante-general  be  united  In  one  person.  Later 
in  December  of  that  year  he  pointed  out  to  the  minister 
of  war  the  illness  of  California  and  suggested  the  remedy 
that  should  be  applied.  California  as  a  country  was 
nowhere  excelled  In  natural  advantages  of  climate,  soil, 
and  harbors,  and  it  had  all  the  elements  of  a  grand  pros- 
perity, needing  only  an  energetic  population  and  wise 
regulations.  The  land  was  capable  of  every  product 
for  the  welfare  of  a  happy  and  prosperous  people  yet 
they  Imported  most  of  the  articles  they  consumed.     A 


352       The  Beginnings  of  San  Francisco 

man  free  from  ties  of  relationship  with  the  people  should 
be  placed  at  the  head  of  affairs  and  invested  with  both 
civil  and  military  authority;  a  force  of  at  least  two  hundred 
men  should  be  sent  in  charge  of  competent  officers;  the 
fort  at  San  Francisco  should  be  rebuilt  and  a  custom 
house  established  there;  a  colony  of  Mexican  artisans 
and  farmers  should  be  sent  to  the  country  to  counter- 
balance the  influx  of  foreigners;  and  many  other  recom- 
mendations were  made. 

The  result  of  Vallejo's  dispatches  was  the  appointment 
of  Micheltorena  to  the  offices  of  governor  and  comandante- 
general.  Having  been  instrumental  in  bringing  Michel- 
torena into  California  Vallejo  stood  his  friend  and  fed 
his  army,  and  also  loaned  him  several  thousand  dollars 
in  money.  For  this  assistance  Micheltorena,  having 
no  funds  with  which  to  pay  Vallejo,  granted  him,  in 
June  1844,  ^h^  Rancho  Nacional  Soscol,  in  what  is  now 
Solano  county. 

In  the  rising  against  Micheltorena  Vallejo  took  no 
part,  but  he  made  an  indignant  protest  against  Sutter's 
arming  foreigners  and  Indians  against  his  country.  He 
advised  Micheltorena  that  he  was  well  esteemed  by  the 
Californians  and  would  be  still  more  highly  thought  of 
if  he  would  send  his  cholos  away.  He  would  not  take 
an  active  part  against  the  governor,  but  to  avoid  sending 
him  reinforcements  and  defend  a  band  of  convicts  whose 
presence  he  deemed  a  curse  to  California,  he  disbanded 
his  Sonoma  forces  November  28,  1844,  and  so  notified 
the  governor,  saying  he  could  no  longer  support  them 
at  his  own  expense  as  he  had  been  doing. 

Always  friendly  to  the  immigrants  Vallejo  exceeded 
his  authority  in  protecting  them,  and  in  this  and  in  openly 
advocating  the  cause  of  the  United  States,  his  great 
influence  was  always  used  for  the  American  cause, 
notwithstanding   the   treatment   he   received.     One   can 


Notes  353 

hardly  conceive  a  more  ungrateful  return  for  the  kindness 
to  immigrants  and  help  to  Americans  than  to  be  seized 
and  confined  in  a  dismal  prison  by  these  same  immigrants 
and  kept  there  long  after  the  United  States  authorities 
had  taken  possession  and  the  United  States  flag  was 
flying  over  his  prison  house.  On  September  15,  1846, 
he  wrote  Larkin:  "I  left  the  Sacramento  half  dead  and 
arrived  here  (Sonoma)  almost  without  life,  but  am  now 
much  better.  *  *  *  The  political  change  has  cost  a 
great  deal  to  my  person  and  mind  and  likewise  to  my 
property.  I  have  lost  more  than  one  thousand  live 
horned  cattle,  six  hundred  tame  horses,  and  many  other 
things  of  value  which  were  taken  from  my  house  here 
and  at  Petaluma.  My  wheat  crops  are  entirely  lost, 
for  the  cattle  ate  them  up  in  the  field  and  I  assure  you 
that  two  hundred  fanegas  of  sowing,*  in  good  condition 
as  mine  was,  is  a  considerable  loss.  All  is  lost  and  the 
only  hope  for  making  it  up  is  to  work  again,  "f 

That  Vallejo's  services  to  the  American  cause  were 
appreciated  by  some  of  the  officers  is  shown  by  a  letter 
from  Captain  Montgomery  of  the  Portsmouth  dated 
September  25,  1846.  The  Captain  sends  hearty  thanks 
"for  the  service  you  have  rendered  as  well  as  for  the 
prompt  and  sincere  manner  in  which  you  were  pleased 
to  tender  your  assistance  to  the  government  of  the  United 
States  in  the  recent  emergency,  and  to  your  associates 
whose  ready  obedience  to  your  call  has  done  much  towards 
allaying  natural  prejudices  and  unfriendly  suspicions 
among  the  various  classes  comprising  the  society  of  Cali- 
fornia, and  for  hastening  arrangements  for  the  establish- 
ment of  peace,  order,  and  good  government  in  the 
country.  "J 

*Represents  a  crop  of  about  25,000  bushels. 
^Larkin  Doc.  iv.  280. 
XVallejo  Doc.  xii.  242. 


354       The  Beginnings  of  San  Francisco 

I  quote  these  letters  because  they  represent  the  char- 
acter of  the  man  far  better  than  any  words  of  mine  can, 
and  how  did  the  United  States  requite  the  services  of 
this  man?  By  passing  laws  which  by  their  action  de- 
prived him  of  all  his  property  and  changed  his  condition 
from  that  of  the  richest  man  in  California  to  one  of 
comparative  poverty.  The  land  commission  confirmed 
his  grant  of  Rancho  Nacional  Soscol.  The  government 
carried  it  to  the  district  court  which  confirmed  the  action 
of  the  land  commission.  The  government  appealed  the 
case  to  the  supreme  court  which  rejected  the  claim  on 
the  ground  that  the  Mexican  government  gave  away  its 
land  in  California  but  could  not  sell  government  land 
for  food  furnished  its  soldiers.  A  most  astounding 
decision.  In  1863  Congress  by  special  act  permitted 
the  holders  of  Vallejo  titles  to  buy  their  land  at  a  dollar 
and  a  quarter  an  acre.  His  great  rancho  of  Petaluma, 
ten  leagues,  to  which  he  added  five  leagues  more  by 
purchase — sixty-six  thousand  acres — nothing  remains  but 
the  little  home  farm  and  residence,  Lachryma  Montis. 
This  is  the  possession  and  home  of  his  two  youngest 
daughters  and  the  spring  which  gives  it  its  name  supplies 
the  town  of  Sonoma  with  water,  and  the  daughters  with 
a  small  income.  The  claim  to  the  Petaluma  rancho 
was  not  confirmed  until  1875,  after  General  Vallejo, 
tired  of  fighting  squatters  and  lawyers  had  given  up  his 
right  to  the  land.* 

On  December  22,  1846,  Vallejo  deeded  to  Robert 
Semple  an  undivided  half  of  a  tract  of  five  square  miles 
of  the  Soscol  rancho,  on  the  straits  of  Carquines,  for  a 
new  city  to  be  built  which  was  to  be  the  great  seaport 
and  commercial  city  of  the  bay  of  San  Francisco.  The 
town  was  to  be  named  Francisca,  in  honor  of  Vallejo's 


"Vallejo:     Historia  de  California,  MS.  iv.  386. 


Notes  355 

wife,  Dona  Francisca  Benicia  Carrillo.  Thomas  O. 
Larkin  became  interested  in  the  venture  and  took  over 
the  greater  part  of  Vallejo's  interest.  The  attempt  to 
appropriate  the  name,  as  well  as  the  commercial  supremacy 
of  San  Francisco  was  frustrated  by  an  order  of  Alcalde 
Washington  A.  Bartlett  requiring  the  name  San  Francisco 
substituted  for  Yerba  Buena  on  all  public  documents. 
Doctor  Semple  was  very  indignant  at  this  action  and 
spluttered  over  it  in  the  Calijornian  which  he  had  removed 
from  Monterey  to  San  Francisco.  To  prevent  confusion 
the  name  of  Francisca  was  changed  to  Benicia,  the  second 
name  of  Seiiora  Vallejo.  The  site  for  the  city  was  a  beau- 
tiful one,  but  trade  did  not  leave  San  Francisco,  though 
General  Persifer  F.  Smith  removed  the  army  headquarters 
to  the  city  on  the  strait.  The  attempt  was  made  to  have 
Benicia  named  capital  of  California  and  General  Vallejo 
made  most  generous  oflFers  to  the  legislature  of  land  and 
money  if  they  would  move  the  capital  thither. 

Vallejo  was  a  member  of  the  constitutional  convention 
and  he  applied  himself  to  the  work  of  creating  a  state 
with  energy  and  diligence.  In  common  with  the  other 
Californians  in  the  convention  he  endeavored  to  protect 
the  interests  of  the  natives  of  the  country.  The  seal 
of  California  caused  much  discussion.  Major  R.  S. 
Garnett  made  a  design  which  was  accepted,  but  the 
members  insisted  upon  the  addition  of  various  features. 
At  last  when  all  was  agreed  the  bear  emblem  was  brought 
forward.  Some  of  the  California  members  were  very 
angry  and  protested  against  the  bear  being  used.  General 
Vallejo  said  that  if  the  bear  was  put  on  the  seal  it  should 
be  represented  as  under  the  control  of  a  vaquero  with  a 
lasso  around  its  neck. 

Bayard  Taylor  says,  writing  of  the  convention:  "One 
of  the  most  intelligent  and  influential  of  the  Californians 
is  General  Mariano  Guadalupe  Vallejo,  whom  I  had  the 


3S6       The  Beginnings  of  San  Francisco 

pleasure  of  meeting  several  times  during  my  stay  in 
Monterey.  As  military  commandant  during  the  gover- 
norship of  Alvarado,  he  exercised  almost  supreme  sway 
over  the  country.  He  is  a  man  of  forty-five  years  of  age, 
tall  and  of  a  commanding  presence;  his  head  is  large, 
forehead  high  and  ample,  and  eyes  dark,  with  a  grave, 
dignified  expression.  He  is  better  acquainted  with  our 
institutions  and  laws  than  any  other  native  Californian."* 
Thomes  says:  (1843)  "The  next  morning,  when  all 
hands  were  called  I  was  again  dispatched  to  Senora 
Abarono's  (Briones)  rancho  for  milk,  as  General  M.  G. 
Vallejo  was  on  board  and  it  was  necessary  to  give  him  a 
feast,  he  owning  half  a  million  acres  of  land,  and  fifty 
thousand  head  of  cattle,  so  it  was  reported.  *  *  *  He 
was  a  very  gentlemanly  Mexican,  and  quite  affable  to 
us  boys,  often  giving  us  a  silver  dollar  for  pulling  him  on 
board  the  ship  and  on  shore."  William  Kelly  says: 
"I  waited  on  the  general,  (at  his  Sonoma  house  in  1850) 
who  is  an  enormously  rich  man,  and  was  received  with 
the  greatest  courtesy  and  hospitality.  He  Is  a  fine, 
handsome  man,  in  the  prime  of  life,  of  superior  attain- 
ments and  great  natural  talent:  the  only  native  Californian 
in  the  senate.  His  lady  is  also  possessed  of  unusual 
personal  attractions  and  of  that  easy  dignity  and  cordi- 
ality of  manner  so  peculiarly  characteristic  of  Spanish 
ladies.  His  house  is  a  fine  one  superbly  furnished  and 
wanting  in  nothing  that  comfort  or  luxury  requires,  "f 

In  common  with  most  Californians  General  Vallejo 
was  most  careless  and  improvident  when  money  was 
plenty,  and  while  he  realized  large  sums  from  the  sale 
of  lands  and  cattle,  his  later  years  were  passed  in  com- 
parative poverty.     The  town  of  Vallejo  was  named  for 

*El  Dorado.  157. 
On  Land  and  Sea.  214. 
]A  Stroll  through  the  Diggings  of  California.  54. 


Notes  357 

him  and  a  street  in  San  Francisco  bears  his  name.  He 
had  sixteen  children,  of  whom  ten  lived  to  maturity. 
One  daughter  married  John  B.  Frisbie,  captain  of  company 
H,  Stevenson's  regiment,  and  another  married  his  brother 
Levi.  One  married  Arpad  Harasthy  and  the  two  younger 
daughters  married  Don  Ricardo  de  Emparon  and  James 
H.  Cutter. 


358       The  Beginnings  of  San  Francisco 


Note  29 

PIO  PICO 
The  Last  Mexican  Governor  of  California 

Pio  Pico,  son  of  Jose  Maria  Pico  and  Maria  Estaquia 
Gutierrez,  su  legitima  esposa^  was  born  at  the  mission 
of  San  Gabriel  May  5,  1801.  His  grandfather,  Santiago 
de  la  Cruz  Pico,  his  father  and  his  mother,  all  came  with 
the  expedition  of  Juan  Bautista  de  Anza  in  1776.  His 
father  and  mother  were  married  in  San  Diego  May  10, 
1789,  and  had: 

i.  Jose  Antonio  Bernardino;  born,  San  Diego  May  21, 
1794. 

ii.  Maria  Concepcion  Nicanor;  born,  San  Diego  Jan- 
uary 14,  1797;  married  Domingo  Carrillo. 

iii.  Maria  Tomasa;  born,  San  Diego  January  20, 
1799;  married  Francisco  Javier  Alvarado,  3d.  It  was 
she  whom  Dana  called  upon  in  San  Diego  in  1859  and 
was  the  only  person  of  the  old  upper  class  of  those  friends 
of  1835-6  whom  he  could  find  there. 

iv.  Pio;  born,  San  Gabriel  May  5,  1801. 

V.  Maria  Casimira;  married  Jose  Joaquin  Geronimo 
de  Ortega.  Dona  Trinidad  de  Ortega,  their  daughter, 
born  in  1832,  was  of  such  rare  beauty  that  Don  Antonio 
de  Coronel,  a  friend  of  her  father,  called  her  La  Primavera 
(the  spring  time)  and  named  Spring  street  (La  Primavera) 
in  Los  Angeles  in  her  honor.  She  married  Miguel  Carlos 
Francisco  Maria  de  la  Guerra. 

vi.  Andres;  born,  San  Diego  November  30,  1810; 
died,  Los  Angeles,  1875. 

vii.  Maria  Isidora;  married  John  Forster. 


Notes  359 

viii.  Maria  Estefana;  married  Jose  Antonio  Carrillo. 

ix.  Maria  Jacinta;  married  Jose  Antonio  Carrillo 
(his  second  wife). 

X.  Feliciana.  It  was  one  of  these  sisters  of  Pio  Pico 
that  was  so  kind  to  the  forlorn  boy,  James  Ohio  Pattie, 
in  the  prison  at  San  Diego  in  1828. 

Pio  Pico's  boyhood  was  spent  in  San  Diego  where  he 
grew  up,  went  to  school  to  Jose  Antonio  Carrillo,  later 
his  brother-in-law,  and  was  acolyte  for  the  padres.  In 
1821  he  kept  a  little  pulperia  in  San  Jose.  The  first  we 
hear  of  him  in  public  life  was  in  1826  when  he  was  clerk 
of  a  court-martial  in  San  Diego.  In  1828  he  was  elected 
a  member  of  the  territorial  diputacion  and  was  thence- 
forth more  or  less  prominently  connected  with  the 
political  affairs  of  the  territory.  He  headed  a  revolt 
against  Governor  Victoria  in  1831  and  on  the  overthrow 
of  that  official  was  named  by  the  diputacion  jefe  politico 
(governor)  ad  interim,  January  11,  1832.  The  ayunta- 
miento  of  Los  Angeles  refused  to  recognize  Pico  as  gover- 
nor and  declared  in  favor  of  Echeandia,  while  Pico 
withdrew  saying  he  declined  to  retain  the  office  in  opposi- 
tion to  the  wish  of  the  people.  On  the  expulsion  of 
Micheltorena  the  junta  departmental  declared  Pico  gov- 
ernor ad  interim  February  15,  1845.  This  was  confirmed 
by  the  supreme  government  at  Mexico  and  Pico  took  the 
oath  as  constitutional  governor  of  California  April  18, 
1846.  The  period  of  Pico's  political  activity  was  one 
of  revolution,  of  contest  between  the  north  and  south 
and  between  the  civil  and  military  authorities.  Through 
the  influence  of  Jose  Antonio  Carrillo,  diputado  to  the 
Mexican  congress,  that  body  decreed  that  "The  Pueblo 
of  Los  Angeles  in  Alta  California  is  erected  into  a  city, 
and  it  will  be  in  future  the  capital  of  that  territory." 
This  order  was  proclaimed  May  23,  1835.     The  Monterey 


360       The  Beginnings  of  San  Francisco 

ayuntamlento  protested  against  the  proposed  change 
as  outrageously  detrimental  if  not  fatal  to  the  best  inter- 
ests of  the  territory,  while  the  diputacion  concurred  and 
decided  to  remain  in  Monterey.  The  governor,  Figueroa, 
ignored  the  order  as  did  Castro,  Gutierrez,  Chico,  Al- 
varado,  and  Micheltorena;  Los  Angeles  protesting  all 
the  time  and  fighting  for  her  right  to  be  the  capital  of 
the  territory.  The  only  interruption  in  this  agitation 
was  when  Micheltorena  remained  for  six  months  at  Los 
Angeles,  and  after  his  cholos  had  stolen  everything  eatable 
in  the  south,  Los  Angeles  relinquished  her  claim  to  the 
honor  of  being  the  governor's  residence  and  congratulated 
Monterey  on  its  acquisition.  It  was  not  until  the 
appointment  of  Pico  in  February  1845  that  Los  Angeles 
came  into  her  own.     Pico  made  it  his  capital. 

The  controversy  between  Jose  Castro,  comandante- 
general,  and  Governor  Pico  immediately  preceding  the 
American  occupation  was  the  question  of  civil  or  military 
supremacy.  Castro  was  alarmed  by  the  aggressive 
attitude  of  the  American  adventurers  in  the  north  while 
Pico  made  light  of  the  trouble  and  believed,  with  some 
cause,  that  Castro  was  making  this  a  pretense  for  ac- 
cumulating an  army  for  the  purpose  of  overthrowing 
him.  The  revenues,  too,  were  largely  in  Castro's  hands, 
Monterey  being  the  chief  port  of  entry,  and  Castro 
allowed  the  civil  government  one-third  of  the  receipts 
claiming  two-thirds  for  the  military  department  as,  under 
instructions  from  the  supreme  government,  it  was  his 
duty  to  defend  the  country  and  he  had  that  right. 
Castro  convened  a  junta  of  military  officers  at  Monterey 
to  take  measures  for  defense  and  Pico  deeming  this  a  us- 
urpation of  his  prerogative  prepared  to  march  against  Cas- 
tro with  an  army  of  eighty  men,  and  had  reached  Santa 
Barbara  when  he  received  the  startling  news  of  the 
capture  of  Sonoma  and  the  raising  of  the  bear  flag. 


Notes  361 

Pico's  course  during  the  conquest  was  not  heroic, 
but  what  could  he  do?  On  the  landing  of  Sloat  he  issued 
a  proclamation  calling  upon  all  Mexican  citizens,  native 
and  naturalized,  every  man  without  exception,  between 
the  ages  of  fifteen  and  sixty,  to  present  himself  to  the 
government,  armed  for  the  national  defense. 

To  this  order  there  was  little  or  no  response.  Many 
Californians  of  influence  were  in  sympathy  with  the 
invaders;  others  felt  that  a  struggle  was  useless  and  all 
were  more  or  less  influenced  by  the  advice  of  Larkin 
and  other  American  friends  whose  efforts  were  directed 
to  effecting  a  peaceful  change  of  flag. 

Castro  joined  Pico  at  Los  Angeles  with  one  hundred 
men;  Pico  had  his  original  army  of  eighty,  with  a  few 
additional  men  obtained  at  Santa  Barbara.  Meanwhile 
Stockton  landed  three  hundred  and  fifty  men  at  San 
Pedro  and  Castro  sent  commissioners  to  negotiate  with 
him.  Stockton  demanded,  as  a  preliminary  to  negotia- 
tions, that  the  Californians  declare  their  independence 
of  Mexico  and  raise  the  American  flag.  Castro  con- 
sidered this  an  insulting  proposition  to  be  made  to  the 
commander-in-chief  of  the  Mexican  forces  and  he  deter- 
mined to  leave  California  rather  than  suffer  the  humilia- 
tion of  capture.  In  a  letter  to  Pico,  August  9th,  he  says 
that  notwithstanding  the  governor's  efforts  to  assist 
him  In  preparing  for  the  defence  of  the  department,  he 
can  only  count  on  one  hundred  men,  badly  armed, 
worse  supplied,  and  discontented,  and  he  has  reason 
to  fear  that  not  even  these  few  men  will  fight  when  the 
necessity  arises.  He  will,  therefore,  leave  the  country 
and  report  to  the  supreme  government  and  he  invited 
the  governor  to  go  with  him. 

Pico  submitted  the  letter  to  the  junta  August  loth, 
and  announced  the  impossibility  of  a  successful  defence. 
He  recommended  that  the  assembly  should  dissolve  in 


362       The  Beginnings  of  San  Francisco 

order  that  the  enemy  might  find  none  of  the  depart- 
mental authorities  acting.  The  assembly  approved  Pico's 
resolve  and  after  appropriate  expressions  of  patriotism 
by  the  members  the  last  junta  departmental  of  California 
adjourned  sine  die. 

Pico  and  Castro  left  the  capital  on  the  night  of  August 
loth.  Castro  after  disbanding  his  military  force  took 
the  road  to  the  Colorado  river,  accompanied  by  a  few 
friends.  He  returned  to  California  in  1848  under  a 
passport  from  Colonel  Mason  and  lived  for  some  years 
at  Monterey  as  a  private  citizen.  Pico  retired  to  the 
Santa  Margarita  rancho  where  he  was  concealed  by  his 
brother-in-law,  John  Forster,  for  about  a  month  while 
Fremont's  men  searched  for  him.  He  escaped  into  Lower 
California  and  in  November  crossed  the  gulf  to  Guaymas. 
He  returned  to  California  in  July  1848,  and  announced 
that  he  came  as  Mexican  governor  of  California  to  carry 
out  the  terms  of  the  armistice  agreed  upon  between  the 
generals  commanding  the  forces  of  Mexico  and  those 
of  the  United  States,  and  requested  the  co-operation  of 
his  excellency,  Governor  Mason.  Mason  ordered  Colonel 
Stevenson,  commanding  the  southern  department,  to 
arrest  Pico,  hold  him  incommunicado,  and  send  him  by 
sea  to  Monterey,  whence  he  intended  to  ship  him  to 
Oregon,  fearing  his  absurd  pretensions  might  incite 
some  of  his  countrymen  to  seditious  acts.  Three  days 
later  Mason  received  the  text  of  the  treaty  which  provided 
for  the  release  of  all  prisoners  and  he  immediately  in- 
structed Colonel  Stevenson  to  release  him. 

The  period  of  Pio  Pico's  administration  was  one  of 
unrest,  of  internal  strife,  and  the  constant  warring  of 
factions  for  privilege  and  for  personal  advantage.  The 
land  was  being  invaded  by  armed  bands  of  rough  adven- 
turers who  freely  expressed  their  contempt  for  the  owners 
of   the    soil    and    scarcely   concealed    their   intention    to 


Notes  363 

appropriate  the  territory.  Without  vigor  or  determina- 
tion or  a  force  to  compel  obedience  to  his  commands, 
Pico  was  utterly  unable  to  oppose  the  manifest  destiny 
of  the  weak  to  be  ruled  by  the  strong,  and  apparently 
made  no  effort  to  stem  the  current  which  was  sweeping 
his  country  into  the  hands  of  a  foreign  power. 

Don  Pio  has  been  severely  criticised  for  his  mission 
policy,  somewhat  unjustly  perhaps,  for  there  is  no 
evidence  that  either  he  or  his  friends  profited  by  the  sale 
of  the  missions.  In  regard  to  land  matters  there  is  more 
reason  to  believe  him  blamable.  Up  to  the  7th  of  July, 
when  Sloat  proclaimed  the  sovereignty  of  the  United 
States,  the  grants  made  by  him  were  apparently  regular 
and  in  accord  with  the  law.  The  belief  that  California 
was  about  to  be  absorbed  by  the  United  States  caused 
an  extraordinary  demand  for  land,  and  if  Pico  gave  it  away 
with  a  free  hand  I  cannot  see  that  he  should  be  censured 
for  it.  He  was  within  his  legal  rights,  and  he  was  no 
friend  of  the  United  States.  He  favored  English  as- 
cendancy and  he  undoubtedly  signed  the  McNamara 
grant  of  three  thousand  square  leagues  with  the  idea  of 
promoting  English  influence  through  the  colonists  to 
be  brought  into  California  by  this  concession;  but  in 
this  his  act  was  subject  to  the  approval  of  the  supreme 
government.  There  is  little  doubt,  however,  that  some 
grants  were  signed  by  him  after  the  7th  of  July  and 
antedated  —  grants  through  which  certain  prominent 
citizens  of  California  hoped  to  obtain  large  tracts  of 
valuable  land. 

Don  Pio  Pico  was  married  in  Los  Angeles  February 
24,  1834,  to  Maria  Ignacia  Alvarado,  daughter  of  Fran- 
cisco Javier  Alvarado  and  Maria  Ignacia  Amador  his 
wife.  The  wedding  was  a  great  event  in  Los  Angeles 
and  General  Jose  Figueroa  (the  governor)  was  groomsman. 
Maria  Ignacia  died  February  2,  1854,  and  Pico  married, 


364       The  Beginnings  of  San  Francisco 

second,  Concepcion  Avila.  In  person,  Don  Pic  was 
about  five  feet,  seven  inches  in  height,  corpulent,  very 
dark,  with  pronounced  African  features.  He  was  an 
amiable,  kind-hearted  man,  of  limited  education  and 
without  sufficient  ability  or  intelligence  to  prevent 
himself  from  being  used  by  abler  men.  His  own  vast 
holdings  of  land,  acquired  before  he  became  governor, 
gradually  passed  from  his  possession.  He  died  in  Los 
Angeles  September  11,  1894,  in  his  ninety-fourth  year. 


Notes  365 

Note  30 
JOHN  A.  SUTTER 

John  Augustus  Sutter  was  born  of  Swiss  parents  in 
Kandern,  Baden,  February  15,  1803,  He  served  his 
time  in  the  Swiss  army  and  was,  for  a  time,  an  officer 
in  the  force  of  citizen  soldiery  of  that  republic.  Having 
failed  in  business  in  Burgdorf,  Bern,  he  sailed  for  America 
in  1834,  leaving  behind  him  his  family  who  joined  him 
some  years  later  in  California.  Landing  in  New  York 
in  July  1834,  Sutter  went  to  St.  Louis  and  later  to  Santa 
Fe.  In  New  Mexico  Sutter  met  men  who  had  been  in 
California  and  who  told  him  of  that  country's  climate, 
lands,  and  cattle.  He  formed  a  party  of  seven  and 
started  from  St.  Louis  in  April  1838  for  California  by 
way  of  Fort  Hall,  Walla  Walla,  Fort  Boise,  and  Fort 
Vancouver,  arriving  at  that  point  in  October,  six  months 
from  St.  Louis.  There  being  no  vessel  soon  to  sail  for 
California,  Sutter  sailed  for  Honolulu.  From  Honolulu 
he  sailed  for  the  American  coast  April  20,  1839,  as  super- 
cargo of  the  English  brig  Clementina,  landing  first  at 
Sitka,  thence  down  the  coast  to  San  Francisco  bay 
which  he  entered  July  ist.  He  brought  with  him  three 
or  four  white  men  and  eight  or  ten  kanakas  for  his  Cali- 
fornia rancho.  He  also  brought  letters  of  introduction 
to  the  Spanish  officials  from  James  Douglas  of  the  Hud- 
son's Bay  company  at  Vancouver,  from  Russian  officials 
at  Sitka,  and  from  prominent  merchants  at  Honolulu. 
From  the  United  States  consul  at  Oahu  he  brought  a 
letter  to  General  \allejo.  In  these  letters  he  is  referred 
to  as  formerly  a  captain  in  the  French  army  and  was 
supposed  to  have  been  a  captain  in  the  famous  Swiss 
guard  of  Charles  X.     Proceeding  to  Monterey  he  was 


366       The  Beginnings  of  San  Francisco 

well  received — his  letters  opening  all  doors,  and  his  pleas- 
ing manners  confirming  the  impressions  created  by  his 
recommendations.     Unfolding  his  colonization  scheme  to 
Governor  Alvarado  he  was  by  him  advised  to  announce  his 
intention  of  becoming  a  Mexican  citizen;  to  go  into  the 
interior  and   select  any  unoccupied   tract  of  land   that 
might  suit  him,  and  to  return  to  Monterey  in  a  year  when 
he  should  be  given  his  papers  of  naturalization  and  a 
grant  of  his  land.     This  suited  Sutter  and  he  returned 
to   San   Francisco,   visited  Vallejo   at   Sonoma   and   the 
Russian  agent  at  Ross.     Vallejo  advised  him  to  settle 
in   Sonoma  or  Napa,   but  Sutter  had    decided    on    the 
Sacramento    valley    before    coming    to    California.     He 
wished  to  be  far  enough  away  from  the  Californians  to 
be  independent — to  set  up,  as  it  were,  a  little  province 
of   his   own.     Chartering   a   small   flotilla   from   Nathan 
Spear,   he  embarked  his  colony  and  his  goods  and  set 
out  for  the  Sacramento,  the  fleet  being  under  command 
of  William  H.  Davis.     For  eight  days  they  sailed  up  the 
Sacramento  river  and  on  the  afternoon  of  the  last  day 
entered  the  mouth  of  the  American  river  and  landed  on 
the  south  bank;  unloaded  the  cargoes;  pitched  the  tents 
and    mounted    the    cannon — three    brass    pieces    which 
Sutter  had  brought  from  Honolulu.     Thus  the  beginning 
of  Sacramento:     the  inhabitants  being.  Captain  Sutter, 
three  white  companions — names  unknown — ten  kanakas 
including  two  women;  an  Indian  boy  from  Oregon;  and 
a  bull  dog  from  Oahu.     The  site  selected  for  the  settle- 
ment was  about  a  quarter  of  a  mile  from  the  landing, 
on  high  ground  where  two  or  three  grass  and  tule  houses 
were  built  by  the  kanakas  on  wooden  frames  put  up  by 
white    men.     These    were    ready    for    occupation    early 
in  September  and  before  the  rains  came  Sutter  had  com- 
pleted an  adobe  house  roofed  with  tules.     A  number  of 
recruits  were  obtained  before  the  end  of  the  year  and 


Notes  367 

Sutter  had  them  all  at  work  hunting,  planting,  and  pre- 
paring for  the  next  season's  trapping  operations,  while 
the  rancho  was  stocked  with  horses  and  cattle. 

Sutter  named  his  establishment  Nueva  Helvecia  and 
in  August  went  to  Monterey  to  receive  his  naturalization 
papers;  and  as  soon  as  the  proper  steps  could  be  taken 
he  was  appointed  commissioner  of  justice  and  representa- 
tive of  the  government  on  the  frontier  of  the  Rio  del 
Sacramento. 

In  1841  Sutter  employed  Jean  J.  Vioget  to  make  a 
survey  and  map  of  the  region  to  be  used  in  his  application 
for  the  grant  of  land  that  had  been  promised  him,  and 
on  August  15th  filed  his  petition  and  diseno  with  the 
governor  who  made  the  grant  August  i8th  of  eleven 
square  leagues  (48,825  acres)  on  the  Sacramento  and 
Feather  rivers. 

Sutter  pursued  a  wise  course  with  the  Indians  and  was 
very  successful  in  his  dealings  with  them.  He  treated 
them  with  uniform  kindness  and  justice  but  with  constant 
vigilance  and  prompt  punishment  of  offenses.  He  had 
unusual  tact  in  making  friends,  and  he  not  only  kept  the 
Indians  of  the  Sacramento  on  friendly  terms  but  succeeded 
in  obtaining  from  them  a  large  amount  of  useful  service. 

In  December  1841,  Sutter  bought  the  Russian  post  at 
Fort  Ross  consisting  of  houses,  mills,  tannery,  live-stock, 
and  implements,  for  thirty  thousand  dollars  to  be  paid 
in  four  yearly  installments.  The  Russian  agent  also 
gave  Sutter  a  certificate  of  transfer  of  the  land  occupied 
by  them  but  as  they  had  no  title  they  could  convey  none 
to  Sutter.  He  removed  the  personal  property  to  New 
Helvetia,  including  the  guns,  seventeen  hundred  cattle, 
nine  hundred  and  forty  horses,  and  nine  hundred  sheep. 
In  1843-4  the  fort,  which  he  had  begun  in  1840,  was 
completed. 


368       The  Beginnings  of  San  Francisco 

It  is  quite  evident  that  Sutter  had  an  idea  that  he 
could  create  an  establishment  that  would  be  in  a  position 
to  maintain  at  least  a  sort  of  independence  of  the  Mexican 
government.  He  is  described  by  visitors  of  that  period 
as  living  in  a  principality  sixty  miles  long  by  twelve  broad 
in  a  state  of  practical  independence,  colonizing  his  lands 
and  employing  an  army  of  workmen  in  raising  crops  and 
in  hunting  the  beaver.  Wilkes  predicts  that  it  will  not 
be  long  before  New  Helvetia  becomes  in  some  respects 
an  American  colony,*  while  De  Mofras  says  that  Monsieur 
Sutter  can  trade  independently  of  the  custom  house  or 
the  Mexican  authorities.!  It  is  not  surprising  that, 
fostered  by  a  benign  government  that  gave  him  the  land 
for  nothing,  he  waxed  fat  and  kicked;  and  when  Vallejo 
and  others  objected  to  some  of  his  doings  he  talked  of 
bringing  in  men  from  the  Willamette  and  the  Missouri, 
of  Shawnees  and  of  Delawares,  and  of  raising  the  standard 
of  the  republic  of  California. 

Sutter  made  strong  objections  to  the  operations  of 
the  trappers  of  the  Hudson's  Bay  company  in  the  Sacra- 
mento and  San  Joaquin  valleys  and  peremptorily  ordered 
the  brigades  to  discontinue  their  visits.  Not  recognizing 
Sutter's  authority  the  trappers  paid  no  attention  to 
his  orders,  but  in  1841  Chief  Factor  James  Douglas  came 
to  Monterey  and  arranged  for  permission  to  employ 
thirty  hunters  in  California  agreeing  to  pay  a  duty  on 
each  skin  taken.  Sutter,  prevented  from  interfering 
with  the  company's  operations,  endeavored  to  stir  up 
strife  among  the  trappers  and  enlist  them  under  his 
banner  of  revolt,  but  Vallejo  was  assured  by  Sir  George 
Simpson,   governor  of   the   company,   that   none   of   his 


*  Wilkes  NaT.  v.  262-3.     Ringgold's  report. 
\Mofras  Explor.  i.  457. 


Notes  369 

men  or  his  agents  would  enter  into  any  political  engage- 
ments with  Sutter  or  any  one  else  of  an  unfriendly  nature 
towards  him  or  the  governor. 

From  1841  regularly  organized  parties  of  American 
immigrants  came  across  the  plains  to  California  and  also 
from  Oregon.  Lying  on  the  direct  route  both  from  the 
Missouri  and  the  Willamette,  Sutter's  fort  was  the  general 
rendezvous  where  all  Americans  were  kindly  welcomed 
and  found  succor  and  temporary  employment  until 
they  could  arrange  with  the  authorities  for  permission 
to  remain  and  settle  in  California.  Sutter  encouraged 
the  immigration  which  was  profitable  to  him  and  assisted 
the  immigrants  in  many  ways.  He  was  generous  to 
a  degree  and  no  appeal  to  him  was  made  in  vain.  He 
gave  freely  whether  remuneration  was  expected  or  not. 
He  assumed  the  right  to  grant  passports  to  foreigners 
which  gave  oflFence  to  the  authorities,  being  contrary 
to  the  lav/s  and  against  the  express  orders  from  Mexico. 
The  alcalde  of  San  Juan  Bautista  complained  that 
foreigners  holding  passes  from  Sutter  were  catching  the 
wild  horses  and  were  buying  those  stolen  from  the  ranchos. 
In  1844  a  militia  company  was  organized  at  New  Helvetia 
and  Sutter  was  made  captain.  He  made  several  expedi- 
tions against  the  predatory  Indians  of  the  north  and  did 
good  work  in  protecting  the  frontier. 

In  taking  up  arms  in  the  quarrel  between  Michel- 
torena  and  Alvarado  Sutter  did  a  blamable  and  foolish 
thing.  The  foreigners  in  California  were  too  ready  to 
interfere  in  the  domestic  affairs  of  the  province,  and  there 
was  too  much  talk  about  their  "rights"  and  how  they 
proposed  to  protect  them.  Alvarado  had  been  Sutter's 
friend  and  benefactor  and  he  turned  his  arms  against 
him.  Vallejo  wrote  Sutter  entreating  him  to  reflect 
before  taking  a  step  that  must  seriously  disturb  the 
friendly  relations  existing  between  the  Californians  and 


370       The  Beginnings  of  San  Francisco 

foreigners;  but  Sutter  would  not  listen.  Micheltorena 
was  going  to  give  him  and  his  friends  large  grants  of 
land  in  addition  to  what  they  already  had,  and  also 
other  lands  which  Sutter  could  parcel  out  among  those 
of  his  followers  who  did  not  wish  to  become  Mexican 
citizens.  These  considerations  overbalanced  any  Vallejo 
could  urge  and  Sutter  marched  to  meet  the  enemy  with 
one  hundred  mounted  riflemen  under  Captain  John 
Gantt,  one  hundred  Indians  under  Ernest  Rufus,  and  a 
brass  field  piece  in  charge  of  eight  or  ten  artillerymen. 
Dr.  John  Townsend,  later  alcalde  of  San  Francisco,  and 
John  Sinclair,  later  alcalde  of  Sacramento  district,  acted 
as  aides-de-camp;  Jasper  O'Farrell  was  quartermaster, 
Samuel  J.  Hensley,  commissary,  and  John  Bidwell, 
secretary.  Before  entering  the  San  Fernando  valley 
Sutter  had  Micheltorena  sign  a  grant  of  what  was  known 
as  the  Sutter  general  title,  twenty-two  leagues  in  the 
Sacramento  valley.  Before  the  fight  began  Pio  Pico, 
who  was  in  command  of  the  parliamentary  army  and 
who  would,  as  first  vocal,  succeed  Micheltorena,  assured 
Sutter  and  his  men  that  Micheltorena's  grant  and  prom- 
ises were  worthless  because  lands  could  only  be  granted 
to  Mexican  citizens.  He  told  them,  however,  that  they 
would  not  be  disturbed  in  their  present  occupation  of 
lands,  and  that  as  soon  as  they  chose  to  become  citizens 
he  would  give  them  legal  titles.  On  this  they  abandoned 
Micheltorena  and  remained  out  of  the  fight;  the  story 
of  which  is  told  in  chapter  xii.  The  grant  of  twenty-two 
leagues  was  thrown  out  by  the  United  States  supreme 
court  as  illegal.  The  New  Helvetia  grant  of  eleven 
leagues  by  Alvarado  in  1841  was  confirmed  after  it  had 
passed  for  the  most  part  out  of  Sutter's  possession. 
With  the  conquest  of  California  Sutter  was  in  position 
to  become  the  richest  and  most  influential  man  in  the 
country.     Popular,  with  a  magnificent  address  and  fine 


Notes  37I 

presence,  he  had  the  dignity  and  military  bearing  of  an 
old  officer,  while  his  kindly  nature  and  courtesy  drew  all 
to  him  and  he  had  in  a  wonderful  degree  the  art  of  making 
friends;  but  he  failed  to  realize  his  opportunity  and  lacked 
the  ability  to  manage  and  conserve  his  great  resources. 
Full  of  energy  and  audacity  he  was  without  strength  to 
hold  what  he  had  and  while  possessing  many  good  and 
kindly  qualities  he  was  somewhat  wanting  in  the  attri- 
butes of  honesty  and  fidelity.  His  posing  as  an  officer 
of  the  Swiss  guard  at  the  French  court,  which  he  never 
was  but  which  he  permitted  to  be  reported  and  believed, 
was  a  piece  of  characteristic  foolishness;  but  notwith- 
standing such  weakness  almost  all  travelers  were  favorably 
impressed  with  and  speak  well  of  him.  His  hospitality 
was  shamefully  abused  by  the  immigrants.  At  the  time 
of  the  discovery  of  gold  Sutter  was  building,  in  addition 
to  his  sawmill  at  Coloma,  a  grist  mill  on  the  American 
river  where  Brighton  now  is.  It  was  never  completed. 
His  men  deserted  to  the  mines,  after  Sutter  had  spent 
thirty  thousand  dollars  on  the  mill,  and  everything  was 
stolen — even  the  stones.  The  immigrants  stole  the  bells 
from  the  fort  and  the  weights  from  the  gates;  they  car- 
ried oflF  two  hundred  barrels  he  had  made  for  packing  sal- 
mon; they  stole  even  his  cannon;  they  drove  their  stock 
into  his  yard  and  helped  themselves  to  his  grain  and  to 
anything  else  they  wanted;  they  squatted  on  his  land, 
denied  the  validity  of  his  title,  cut  down  his  timber, 
and  drove  off  his  cattle.  Sharpers  robbed  him  of  what  the 
squatters  did  not  take  until  at  last  he  was  stripped  of 
everything.  The  California  legislature  in  1864  provided 
him  a  pension  of  two  hundred  and  fifty  dollars  a  month. 
This  was  continued  until  1878  when  the  bill  was  defeated. 
He  died  in  Washington  D.  C.  in  1880,  in  comparative 
poverty. 


372       The  Beginnings  of  San  Francisco 

In  person  Sutter  was  about  five  feet,  nine  Inches  in 
height  and  was  thickset.  He  had  a  large  head  and  an 
open  manly  face,  somewhat  hardened  and  bronzed 
by  his  life  in  the  open  air.  His  hair  was  thin  and  light 
and  he  wore  a  short  mustache.  Thomes  wrote  in  1844: 
"One  day  a  flat  boat  came  alongside,  manned  by  ten 
naked  Indians,  and  in  the  stern  was  a  white  man.  He 
brought  us  two  hundred  hides  and  a  large  lot  of  beaver 
and  other  skins.  When  he  came  on  deck  Mr.  Prentice 
(chief  mate)  told  me  the  visitor  was  the  celebrated  Cap- 
tain Sutter;  that  he  lived  a  long  way  oflf,  up  the  Sacra- 
mento river  somewhere,  and  had  ten  thousand  wild  Indians 
under  his  command,  a  strong  fort,  and  employed  all  the 
white  men  who  came  in  his  way.  The  captain  was  a 
short  stout  man,  with  broad  shoulders,  large,  full  face, 
short  stubby  mustache,  a  quiet  reserved  manner,  and  a 
cold  blue  eye  that  seemed  to  look  you  through  and 
through,  and  to  read  your  thoughts.  *  *  *  He  was 
reported  to  be  a  Swiss  by  birth  and  formerly  an  officer 
of  the  Great  Napoleon's  army."*  Bartlett  says-.f  "Cap- 
tain Sutter  has  the  manners  of  an  intelligent  and  courteous 
gentlemen,  accustomed  to  move  in  polished  society. 
He  speaks  several  languages  with  fluency.  He  is  kind, 
hospitable,  and  generous  to  a  fault;  as  many  Americans 
know  who  have  lived  on  his  bounty.  He  is  a  native  of 
Switzerland,  fifty-five  to  sixty  years  of  age,  and  of  fine 
personal  appearance.  He  was  one  of  the  officers  of  the 
Swiss  guard  in  the  Revolution  of  July  (1830)  during  the 
reign  of  Charles  X.  After  this  he  emigrated  to  the 
United  States."  Bayard  TaylorJ  says:  "Captain  Sut- 
ter's appearance  and  manners  quite  agree  with  my 
preconceived  ideas  of  him.     He  is  still  the  hale,  blue-eyed 

*0n  Land  and  Sea.  192 
t  Personal  Narrative.  69. 
t  El  Dorado,  158. 


Notes  373 

jovial  German,  short  and  stout  of  stature,  with  a  broad 
high  forehead,  head  bald  to  the  crown,  and  altogether  a 
ruddy,  good-humored  expression  of  countenance.  He  is 
a  man  of  good  intellect,  excellent  common  sense,  and 
amiable  qualities  of  heart.  A  little  more  activity  and 
enterprise  might  have  made  him  the  first  man  in  California 
in  point  of  wealth  and  influence." 

Sutter's  public  career  practically  ended  with  the 
constitutional  convention  of  which  he  was  a  rather 
ornamental  member,  having  little  influence  and  doing 
but  little  work.  His  title  of  general  comes  from  his 
being  named  in  1856  major  general  of  the  Fifth  division, 
state  militia. 


374       The  Beginnings  of  San  Francisco 

Note  31 
JOHN  C.  FREMONT 

No  history  of  California  would  be  complete  without 
some  account  of  John  C.  Fremont,  the  man  who  Senator 
Nesmith  of  Oregon  said  had  the  credit  with  many  people 
of  "finding"  everything  west  of  the  Rocky  mountains. 

John  Charles  Fremont  was  born  in  Savannah,  Georgia, 
January  21,  1813;  died  in  New  York,  July  13,  1890.  His 
wife  was  Jessie,  daughter  of  Senator  Thomas  H.  Benton. 
In  1838  he  was  appointed  second  lieutenant  of  topo- 
graphical engineers  and  was  sent,  in  1842,  in  charge  of 
a  party  of  surveyors  to  explore  the  regions  of  the  great 
west  and  map  out  the  routes  followed  by  the  trappers 
and  emigrants.  With  a  party  of  twenty-five  men  he 
came  over  the  Oregon  trail  as  far  as  the  South  pass  which 
he  explored,  climbed  the  peak  of  the  Wind  River  mountains 
which  bears  his  name,  and  returned  to  the  Missouri. 
He  made  a  series  of  accurate  observations  of  this  portion 
of  the  overland  route  and  his  report  was  ordered  printed 
by  Congress.  On  the  29th  of  June  1843,  he  started  with 
a  similar  party  to  complete  his  survey  from  South  pass 
westward  to  connect  with  that  made  by  Lieutenant 
Wilkes  on  the  Columbia  river.  He  reached  South  pass 
in  August,  made  a  brief  survey  of  Great  Salt  lake  and 
was  at  Fort  Hall  on  September  19th,  Fort  Boise  October 
8th,  and  the  Dalles  November  4th.  He  made  a  boat 
trip  to  Fort  Vancouver  and  back  and  on  the  twenty-fifth 
of  November  started  up  the  Fall  river  (now  Des  Chutes) 
to  explore  Klamath  lake;  thence  southeast  to  find  a  lake 
called  Mary's;  thence  still  southeast  to  explore  the  San 
Buenaventura  river,  "flowing  from  the  Rocky  mountains 
to  the  bay  of  San  Francisco";  thence  to  the  head  waters 


Notes  375 

of  the  Arkansas,  to  Bent's  fort,  and  home.  On  December 
loth  he  reached  Klamath  marsh  and  turning  to  the  east 
discovered  and  named  Summer,  Abert,  and  Christmas 
(now  Warner)  lakes.  Continuing  southward  in  search 
of  Mary's  lake,  or  the  sink  of  the  Humboldt,  he  reached 
and  named  Pyramid  lake  on  January  10,  1844,  and  feasted 
on  its  supply  of  salmon  trout.  On  the  i6th  he  followed 
up  Salmon  Trout  (Truckee)  river  to  its  bend,  and  then 
continued  southward  in  search  of  the  San  Buenaventura. 
On  the  1 8th  of  January  Fremont  determined  to  attempt 
the  snow  covered  sierra  and  cross  into  California  rather 
than  venture  the  great  basin  with  his  worn  and  foot- 
sore animals.  Seeking  a  pass  he  kept  on  southward, 
up  the  eastern  branch  of  Walker  river,  and  then  turned 
northwest  to  regain  the  Truckee,  but  came,  instead,  to 
the  Carson,  being  obliged  to  abandon  a  brass  howitzer 
he  had  brought  thus  far,  and  which  was  found  years  later 
somewhere  between  Genoa  and  Aurora.  From  the 
second  to  the  end  of  February  the  explorers  fought  their 
way  through  the  deep  snow  and  thirty-three  out  of 
sixty-seven  horses  and  mules  were  lost  or  killed  for  food. 
At  length  they  reached  the  south  branch  of  the  American 
river  and  six  days'  journey  brought  them  to  Sutter's 
fort  where  they  arrived  the  8th  of  March.  The  pass 
by  which  they  crossed  was  that  known  by  the  immigration 
of  1849  as  the  Carson.  Sutter  supplied  the  travelers  with 
what  they  required,  taking  Fremont's  drafts  on  the 
topographical  bureau  at  twenty  per  cent,  discount. 
After  a  brief  rest  Fremont  started  with  fresh  animals 
on  his  return.  Passing  up  the  San  Joaquin  he  crossed 
the  Tehachapi  pass,  Mojave  desert,  the  great  basin, 
and  reached  Utah  lake  May  24th,  and  the  Missouri 
river  at  the  end  of  July.  Fremont  was  accompanied 
on  both  of  these  explorations  by  Kit  Carson,  as  guide, 
and  for  gallant  and  highly  meritorious  service  in  the  two 


37^       The  Beginnings  of  San  Francisco 

expeditions   was    made   brevet-captain   of   topographical 
engineers,  dating  from  July  31,  1844. 

Fremont's  third  expedition  left  Bent's  fort  in  August 
1845.  He  had  sixty-two  men,  including  six  Delaware 
Indians,  and  some  of  the  men  of  the  former  expedition. 
This  time  he  made  some  explorations  in  Utah  and  on 
November  5th  was  on  the  head  waters  of  the  Humboldt. 
Sending  the  main  body  down  the  river  he  started  with  a 
small  party  to  the  southwest  through  what  are  now  the 
counties  of  Eureka,  Nye,  and  Esmeralda,  Nevada,  and 
met  the  main  body  at  Walker  lake  November  27th. 
After  arranging  a  rendezvous  in  California,  Fremont  with 
fifteen  men  left  Walker  lake  on  the  29th,  reached  Salmon 
Trout  river  December  1st,  crossed  the  Sierra  Nevada 
by  the  Truckee  pass  on  the  fifth  and  sixth,  and  arrived 
at  Sutter's  fort  December  loth.  Obtaining  from  Sutter 
mules,  cattle,  and  other  supplies,  Fremont  started, 
December  14th,  up  the  San  Joaquin  valley  and  on  the 
twenty-second  reached  Kings  river,  the  River  of  the  Lake, 
as  he  called  it,  the  place  of  meeting.  Meanwhile  the 
main  body  remained  at  Walker  lake  to  recruit  their 
animals  and  resumed  their  march,  December  8th,  guided 
by  Joseph  R.  Walker,  one  of  the  most  skilful  and  famous 
of  the  guides  and  trappers  of  the  far  west.  Walker  was 
one  of  Captain  Bonneville's  trappers,  and  in  1833  had  been 
sent  by  that  officer  in  command  of  a  brigade  of  forty 
men  to  explore  the  Great  Salt  Lake,  but  instead  of  doing 
so  had  carried  his  party  down  the  Humboldt  and  over 
the  sierra  into  California  where  they  had  spent  the  winter 
in  riotous  living.  Returning  in  the  spring  of  1834, 
Walker  had  crossed  the  mountains  by  the  pass  that  bears 
his  name  and  regained  Bonneville  on  Bear  river,  near 
Salt  Lake.*  He  had  discovered  on  this  trip  Walker 
lake,  river,  and  pass,  all  named  for  him. 

*  Washington  Irving's  Captain  Bonneville,  page  404. 


Notes  377 

Under  Walker's  guidance  the  main  body  of  the  expedi- 
tion took  up  its  march  and  proceeding  southward  passed 
to  the  west  of  the  White  mountains  and  up  Owens  river 
to  Owens  lake,  both  named  for  Richard  Owens,  a  member 
of  their  party.  Following  the  line  of  the  present  Carson 
and  Colorado  railroad,  thence  passing  on  the  west  side 
of  the  lake,  southward,  they  went  through  Walker  pass 
and  down  the  south  branch  of  Kern  river,  named  for 
another  member  of  their  party,  E.  M.  Kern,  topographer 
of  the  expedition.  At  the  forks  of  the  river,  in  Kern 
valley,  they  encamped  December  28th  to  await  their 
leader,  mistaking  the  stream  for  that  called  by  Fremont 
Tulares  lake  river,  or  River  of  the  Lake.  The  two 
divisions  of  the  expedition  were  thus  encamped  about 
eighty  miles  apart,  each  awaiting  the  arrival  of  the  other. 
On  January  7,  1846,  Fremont  returned  with  his  party 
to  Sutter's  fort  where  he  met  LeidesdorflF  and  Captain 
Hinckley,  the  three  being  entertained  by  Sutter  who 
gave  them  a  grand  dinner.  From  Sutter's  Fremont  went  to 
Yerba  Buena,  and  thence  with  Hinckley  to  visit  San 
Jose  and  the  new  quicksilver  mines  at  Almaden.  On 
January  24th  he  left  Yerba  Buena  with  LeidesdorfT, 
United  States  sub-consul,  for  Monterey  where  they  were 
received  by  Consul  Thomas  0.  Larkin  on  the  twenty- 
seventh.  On  the  day  of  their  departure  from  Yerba 
Buena  Sub-prefect  Guerrero  notified  Prefect  Manuel 
Castro  of  the  fact  and  the  prefect  addressed  a  note  to 
Larkin  asking  to  be  informed  respecting  the  purpose  for 
which  United  States  troops  had  entered  the  department 
and  their  leader  had  come  to  Monterey.  Fremont 
explained  through  the  consul  that  he  had  come  by  order 
of  his  government  to  survey  a  practicable  route  to  the 
Pacific;  that  he  had  left  his  company  of  fifty  hired  men, 
not  soldiers,  on  the  frontier  of  the  department  to  rest 
themselves    and    their    animals;    that    he    had    come    to 


378       The  Beginnings  of  San  Francisco 

Monterey  to  obtain  clothing  and  funds  for  the  purchase 
of  animals  and  provisions;  and  that  when  his  men  were 
recruited,  he  intended  to  continue  his  journey  to  Oregon. 
This  communication  was  supplemented  by  a  personal 
interview  with  the  prefect  when  the  explanation  was 
repeated  in  the  presence  of  the  alcalde  of  Monterey, 
of  Colonel  J.  B.  Alvarado,  and  of  General  Jose  Castro, 
and  was  duly  forwarded  to  Governor  Pico  and  to  the 
supreme  government.  The  explanation  was  apparently 
satisfactory  and  no  objection  was  made  to  Fremont's 
plan. 

Thus  ended  the  famous  interview.  It  does  not  appear 
in  any  of  the  documents  that  express  permission  was 
given  Fremont  to  winter  his  men  in  the  San  Joaquin 
valley,  but  that  consent  was  understood.  This  is  the 
testimony  of  those  present:  Larkin  and  Castro.*  A 
few  days  later  Fremont  left  Monterey  to  look  for  his  men. 

The  main  body  of  the  expedition  remained  on  Kern 
river  waiting  for  Fremont  until  January  i8th,  when  they 
broke  camp  and  started  northward,  and  on  February 
6th  camped  on  the  Calaveras  river  near  the  present 
Stockton.  Hearing  that  Fremont  was  at  San  Jose  the 
command  moved  into  the  Santa  Clara  valley  and  joined 
him  on  February  15th  at  the  Laguna  Seco  rancho,  a 
little  below  San  Jose.  A  week  later  Fremont  started 
with  his  entire  company,  crossed  the  Santa  Clara  valley, 
passed  into  the  Santa  Cruz  mountains,  and  descended 
to  the  coast  southward  by  the  route  later  followed  by 
the  railroad;  thence  into  the  Salinas  valley  and  camped 
on  March  3d  at  the  Alisal  rancho,  about  eighteen  miles 
from  Monterey. 


"  Lar kin's  official  correspondence  MS.  ii.  44-5. 
Castro — Doc.  MS.  i.  316.  ii.  55. 
Doc.  Hist.  Cal.  MS.  ii.  86,  89. 


Notes  379 

The  bringing  of  a  body  of  armed  men  into  their  settle- 
ments was  a  piece  of  effrontery  which  expressed  the  con- 
tempt in  which  Fremont  held  the  authorities  of  California. 
The  insult  was  calculated  to  alarm  and  anger  them,  and 
their  displeasure  was  increased  by  the  insolent  manner 
in  which  the  strangers  conducted  themselves  towards 
the  people.  While  at  the  Laguna  Saco  Sebastian  Peralta, 
a  ranchero,  owner  of  the  Rinconada  de  los  Gatos,  visited 
the  camp  and  pointed  out  some  horses  which  he  claimed 
had  been  stolen  from  his  rancho  some  months  before. 
A  very  extensive  business  had  been  carried  on  by  Indian 
horse  thieves  in  stealing  horses  from  the  ranchos  and 
selling  them  to  dealers  who  took  them  out  of  the  country, 
and  Fremont  had  been  warned  against  buying  horses 
from  Indians  and  other  irresponsible  persons.  He 
refused  to  give  the  horses  up  to  Peralta  and  ordered  him 
from  the  camp.  Peralta  complained  to  the  alcalde  of 
San  Jose  who  sent  Fremont  an  official  communication 
on  February  20tli.  In  reply  the  captain  stated  that  all 
of  his  animals  with  the  exception  of  four  obtained  from 
the  Tulares  Indians,  had  been  purchased  and  paid  for; 
and  that  the  one  claimed  had  been  brought  from  the 
states.  "The  insult  of  which  he  complains,"  Fremont 
continued,  "and  which  was  authorized  by  myself,  con- 
sisted in  his  being  ordered  immediately  to  leave  the  camp. 
After  having  been  detected  in  endeavoring  to  obtain 
animals  by  false  pretences,  he  should  have  been  well 
satisfied  to  escape  without  a  severe  horse-whipping.  *  *  * 
Any  further  communications  on  this  subject  will  not, 
therefore,  receive  attention.  You  will  readily  under- 
stand that  my  duties  will  not  permit  me  to  appear  before 
the  magistrates  of  your  towns  on  the  complaint  of  every 
straggling  vagabond  who  may  chance  to  visit  m-5.>:amp. 
You  inform  me  that  unless  satisfaction  be  immediately 
made  by  the  delivery  of  the  animals  in  question,   the 


380       The  Beginnings  of  San  Francisco 

complaint  will  be  forwarded  to  the  governor.  I  would 
beg  you  at  the  same  time  to  enclose  to  his  Excellency  a  copy 
of  this  note."  The  alcalde  forwarded  the  correspondence 
to  the  governor  with  the  statement  that  Peralta  was 
an  honest  man. 

While  at  the  Alisal  three  of  Fremont's  men  visited  the 
rancho  of  Don  Angel  Maria  Castro,  an  uncle  of  General 
Castro,  and  oflFered  insult  to  one  of  his  daughters.  The 
father,  an  old  man,  who  had  in  his  younger  days  served  the 
king,  defended  his  daughter  from  outrage  when  one  of  the 
trappers  drew  a  pistol  and  presented  it  at  his  breast.  The 
old  man,  whose  strength  had  not  yet  failed  him,  seized 
his  assailant  by  the  throat,  wrested  the  pistol  from  his 
hand  and  rolled  him  over  the  floor.  At  this  the  men 
withdrew,  threatening  to  return.* 

On  the  5th  of  March  an  officer  arrived  in  Fremont's 
camp  with  the  following  order  from  General  Castro: 
"This  morning  at  seven  information  reached  this  office 
that  you  and  your  party  have  entered  the  settlements  of 
this  department;  and  this  being  prohibited  by  our  laws, 
I  find  myself  obliged  to  notify  you  that  on  receipt  of  this 
you  must  immediately  retire  beyond  the  limits  of  the 
department,  such  being  the  orders  of  the  supreme  govern- 
ment, which  the  undersigned  is  under  the  obligation  of 
enforcing."  At  the  same  time  the  prefect  sent  Fremont 
similar  orders,!   saying   that   if   he    did    not    obey,   the 


*  Osio:     Hist.  Cal.  MS.  p.  458.  Bancroft  Collection. 

t"I  have  learned  with  surprise  that  you,  against  the  laws  and  authorities 
of  the  Mexican  republic,  have  entered  the  pueblos  of  the  district  under  my 
charge,  jth  an  armed  force,  on  a  commission  which  the  government  of  your 
nation  must  have  given  you  to  survey  solely  its  own  territory."  etc.  Manuel 
Castro  to  Fremont.     NiUs  Register,  Nov.  21,  1846. 


Notes  381 

prefect  would  take  measures  to  make  him  respect  his 
determination.  Both  orders  were  communicated  at  once 
to  Larkin  and  by  him  to  the  government  of  the  United 
States. 

To  these  orders  Fremont  sent  back  no  written  reply 
but  merely  a  verbal  refusal  to  obey.  He  then  moved 
his  camp  to  the  summit  of  Gavllan  peak,  erected  forti- 
fications and  over  them  raised  the  flag  of  the  United 
States.  On  March  6th  Castro  reported  to  the  minister 
of  war  that  Fremont  had  presented  himself  at  head- 
quarters some  days  previous  with  request  for  permission 
to  procure  provisions  for  his  men  whom  he  had  left  in 
the  mountains.  This  permission  had  been  given  him. 
"But  two  days  ago  I  was  much  surprised  at  being  in- 
formed that  he  was  only  two  days'  journey  from  this 
place.  Consequently  I  at  once  sent  him  a  communication, 
ordering  him,  on  the  instant  of  its  receipt,  to  put  himself 
on  the  march  and  leave  the  department.  But  I  have 
received  no  answer,  and  in  order  to  make  him  obey  in 
case  of  resistance,  I  sent  a  force  to  observe  his  operations, 
and  to-day  I  march  in  person  to  join  it  and  to  see  that  the 
object  is  attained." 

Larkin,  alarmed  at  the  direction  affairs  had  taken, 
sent  a  communication  to  the  prefect  and  also  to  the 
general  urging  caution  in  proceeding  against  Fremont 
on  account  of  causes  arising,  possibly,  from  false  reports 
or  false  appearances,  and  recommending  that  any  party, 
going  to  the  camp  of  Captain  Fremont  be  commanded 
by  a  trustworthy  and  experienced  officer,  lest  affairs 
be  brought  to  some  unhappy  conclusion.  The  prefect, 
in  reply,  stated  that  the  orders  to  Fremont  had  not  been 
founded  on  false  reports  or  appearances,  but  on  the 
laws  and  oft-repeated  instructions  from  Mexico,  and 
he  complained  that  the  consul,  instead  of  ordering  Fre- 
mont to  depart,  had   to  a  certain  extent  defended   his 


382       The  Beginnings  of  San  Francisco 

entry.  He  urged  him  to  impress  on  the  captain  the 
necessity  of  submitting  at  once  if  he  would  avert  the 
consequence  of  his  illegal  entry.  Larkin  enclosed  this 
letter  to  Fremont  with  one  of  his  own  in  which  he  warned 
that  officer  that  Castro  would  soon  have  at  least  two 
hundred  men  in  arms  against  him.  Larkin  did  not  know 
what  instructions  Fremont  had  received  from  the  govern- 
ment, but  could  not  comprehend  his  movements.  "It 
is  not  for  me  to  point  out  to  you  your  line  of  conduct," 
he  wrote,  "you  have  your  instructions  from  the 
government,  and  my  knowledge  of  your  character  obliges 
me  to  believe  you  will  follow  them;  you  are  of  course 
taking  every  care  and  safeguard  to  protect  your  men, 
but  not  knowing  your  actual  situation  and  the  people  who 
surround  you,  your  care  may  prove  insufficient.  *  *  * 
Your  encamping  so  near  town  has  caused  much  excite- 
ment. The  natives  are  firm  in  the  belief  that  they  will 
break  you  up  and  that  you  can  be  entirely  destroyed  by 
their  power.  In  all  probability  they  will  attack  you; 
the  result  either  way  may  cause  trouble  hereafter  to 
resident  Americans.  I  myself  have  no  fears  on  the 
subject,  yet  believe  the  present  state  of  affairs  may  cause 
an  interruption  to  business.  Should  it  be  impossible 
or  inconvenient  for  you  to  leave  California  at  present,  I 
think  in  a  proper  representation  to  the  general  and  pre- 
fecto,  an  arrangement  could  be  made  for  your  camp  to 
be  continued,  but  at  some  greater  distance;  which  arrange- 
ment I  would  advise  if  you  can  offer  it.  I  never  make  to 
this  government  an  unreasonable  request,  therefore 
never  expect  a  denial,  and  have  for  many  years  found  them 
well  disposed  to  me."  This  letter  was  forwarded  on 
the  ninth,  one  copy  being  entrusted  to  an  American  and 
another  to  a  Californian.  On  the  same  day  Larkin  wrote 
to  John  Parrott,  United  States  consul  at  Mazatlan, 
enclosing   copies  of  the  correspondence  and   requesting 


Notes  383 

that  a  man-of-war  be  sent  to  California  without 
delay.  This  brought  the  Portsmouth  which  arrived 
April  22d. 

The  American  courier  sent  by  Larkin  to  Fremont  was 
captured  and  the  dispatches  fell  into  the  hands  of  Castro. 
The  Callfornlan,  provided  with  a  pass  by  Alcalde  Diaz 
of  Monterey,  reached  the  camp  and  returned  at  eight 
o'clock  p.  m.  with  Fremont's  reply  which  bore  no  date 
and  was  written  In  pencil.  "I  this  moment  received 
your  letters,"  wrote  the  captain,  "and  without  waiting  to 
read  them  acknowledge  the  receipt,  which  the  courier 
requires  Instantly.  I  am  making  myself  as  strong  as 
possible.  In  the  intention  that  if  we  are  unjustly  attacked 
we  will  fight  to  extremity  and  refuse  quarter,  trusting 
to  our  country  to  avenge  our  death.  No  one  has  reached 
my  camp  and  from  the  heights  we  are  able  to  see  troops — 
with  the  glass — mustering  at  St.  John's  and  preparing 
cannon.  I  thank  you  for  your  kindness  and  good  wishes, 
and  would  write  more  at  length  as  to  my  Intentions  did 
I  not  fear  that  my  letter  would  be  Intercepted.  We 
have  in  no  wise  done  wrong  to  the  people  or  the  authorities 
of  the  country,  and  if  we  are  hemmed  in  and  assaulted 
we  will  die,  every  man  of  us  under  the  flag  of  our  country. 
P.  S.  I  am  encamped  on  the  top  of  the  sierra,  at  the 
head  waters  of  a  stream  which  strikes  the  road  at  the 
house  of  Don  Joaquin  Gomez." 

In  a  letter  to  the  president  of  the  United  States  dated 
November  9,  1846,  enclosing  Fremont's  letters,  Thomas 
H.  Benton  says:  "To  my  mind  this  entrenching  on  the 
mountain,  and  raising  the  national  flag,  was  entirely 
justifiable  under  the  circumstances,  and  the  noble  resolu- 
tion which  they  took  to  die  if  attacked,  under  the  flag 
of  their  country,  four  thousand  miles  distant  from  their 
homes,  was  an  act  of  the  highest  heroism,  worthy  to 


384       The  Beginnings  of  San  Francisco 

be  recorded  by  Xenophon  and  reflecting  equal  honor 
upon  the  brave  young  oihcer  who  commanded  and  the 
heroic  sixty-two  by  whom  he  was  supported."* 

Notwithstanding  his  declaration  to  fight  to  extremity 
Fremont  abandoned  his  camp  that  same  night  and  moved 
off  eastward,  giving  his  men  to  understand  that  the 
United  States  consul  so  ordered  it.f  The  California 
army  was  disbanded  and  returned  to  their  homes  on  the 
thirteenth  by  an  order  in  which  the  general  announced 
to  them  that  the  highwaymen  who  |iad  abused  their 
hospitality  and  raised  the  United  States  flag  on  California 
soil  had,  at  the  sight  of  two  hundred  patriots  arming  for 
the  defence  of  their  country,  abandoned  their  camp  and 
fled,  leaving  behind  some  clothing  and  war  material. 
Fremont  had  abandoned  some  worn  out  clothing  and 
articles  not  worth  removing. 

So  ended  the  famous  affair  of  Gavilan  Peak  celebrated 
in  the  annals  of  San  Benito  and  Monterey,  and  in  honor 
of  which  an  unsuccessful  attempt  has  been  made  to 
change  the  name  of  the  sierra  from  Picacho  del  Gavilan 
to  Fremont  Peak. 

Fremont's  statement  before  the  court-martial  con- 
cerning this  incident  is  disingenuous  and  misleading,  if 
not  made  with  deliberate  intent  to  deceive.     He  says: 

"I  explained  to  General  Castro  the  object  of  my  coming 
into  California  and  my  desire  to  obtain  permission  to  winter 
in  the  valley  of  the  San  Joaquin  for  refreshment  and  repose, 
where  there  was  plenty  of  game  for  the  men  and  grass  for  the 
horses,  and  no  inhabitants  to  be  molested  by  our  presence. 
Leave  was  granted,  and  also  leave  to  continue  my  explorations 
south  to  the  region  of  the  Rio  Colorado  and  of  the  Rio  Gila. 

"In  the  last  days  of  February  I  commenced  the  march 
south,  crossing  into  the  valley  of  the  Salinas  or  Buenaventura 

*  Niles  Nat.  Reg.  Ixxi,  I73-4- 

t  Martin,  iVarra<tW,  12.  The  writer  was  one  of  Fremont's  men  and  was 
with  him  on  Gavilan. 


Notes  385 

and  soon  received  a  notification  to  depart,  with  information 
that  General  Castro  was  assembling  troops  with  a  view  to 
attack  us,  under  the  pretext  that  I  had  come  to  California 
to  excite  the  American  settlers  to  revolt. 

"The  information  of  this  design  was  authentic,  and  with 
a  view  to  be  in  a  condition  to  repel  a  superior  force,  provided 
with  cannon,  I  took  a  position  on  the  Sierra,  called  Hawk's 
peak,  entenched,  raised  the  flag  of  the  United  States  and 
awaited  the  approach  of  the  assailant."* 

There  is  nothing  in  this  statement  to  explain  to  the 
court  how  the  captain  could  march  his  men  from  the 
place  of  rest  and  refreshment  into  the  Salinas  valley 
on  his  way  south  to  the  Rios  Colorado  and  Gila.  In 
the  absence  of  any  clear  idea  of  the  geography  of  Cali- 
fornia, it  was  not  to  be  expected  of  the  members  of  the 
court  to  know  that  the  place  where  Fremont  was  per- 
mitted to  winter  his  men  was  more  than  two  hundred 
and  fifty  miles  southeast  of  the  point  where  he  "com- 
menced the  march  south  by  crossing  into  the  valley  of 
the  Salinas." 

The  only  understanding  the  court  could  have,  in  the 
absence  of  explanations  and  a  map  of  the  country,  is 
that  after  giving  Fremont  permission  to  winter  in  the 
valley  Castro  treacherously  prepared  to  attack  him. 
That  it  was  so  understood  by  the  people  generally  is 
shown  by  the  usually  accepted  statements  regarding 
Castro's  treachery. f 

The  absurdity  of  the  contention  appears  to  have 
occurred  to  General  Fremont  in  his  later  years,  for  In 
an  article  in  the  Century  in  1891,  he  says:  "My  purpose 
(in  visiting  Monterey)  was  to  get  leave  to  bring  my  party 
into  the  settlements  in  order  to  outfit  and  to  obtain  the 


*  30th  Cong.  1st.  Ses.  Senate  Ex.  Doc.  jj.  p.  372. 

t  See  map  facing  page  102;  the  camp  of  Fremont's  men  on  Kern  river  is 
indicated. 


386       The  Beginnings  of  San  Francisco 

supplies  that  had  now  become  necessary.  *  *  *  The 
permission  asked  for  was  readily  granted."* 

The  permission  to  extend  his  survey  to  the  Colorado 
and  Gila  rivers  does  not  seem  to  have  attracted  the 
attention  of  Larkin,  who  was  present  at  the  interview, 
for  he  wrote  on  March  4th,  of  Fremont,  "He  is  now  in 
this  vicinity  surveying.  *  *  *  He  then  proceeds  for  the 
Oregon,  returns  here  in  May,  and  expects  to  be  in  Wash- 
ington about  September. "  Nor  was  Pico  better  informed 
for  he  directs  that  a  close  watch  be  kept  on  Fremont  with 
a  view  to  learn  if  he  had  any  other  design  than  that  of 
preparing  for  a  trip  to  Oregon. 

Crossing  into  San  Joaquin  valley  by  the  Pacheco  pass, 
Fremont  proceeded  to  the  Sacramento  and  on  March 
2ist  was  at  Sutter's  fort,  and  on  the  30th  at  Peter  Lassen's 
rancho  on  Deer  creek.  While  here  he  was  called  on  by 
the  settlers  for  aid  against  the  Indians  who,  they  claimed, 
were  gathering  to  attack  them.  According  to  Martin, 
Fremont  said  he  would  discharge  his  men  and  they  could 
do  as  they  pleased.  The  result  was  a  raid  in  which  a 
large  number  of  Indians  were  killed. f  While  at  this 
camp  Fremont  sent  out  men  to  buy  horses  from  the 
Indians.  These  animals  he  knew  had  been  stolen  from 
the  ranchos,  for  he  was  warned  of  that  fact  by  Sutter. 
Martin  says  that  they  bought  one  hundred  and  eighty- 
seven  horses  from  the  Indians  of  the  Tulares,  giving  a 
knife  and  a  string  of  beads  for  each  horse.  On  April 
14th   Fremont   left   Lassen's   and   proceeded   northward 


*  Century  Mag.  xix.  921.  The  difference  between  this  and  the  previous 
statements  will  be  noted.     The  italics  are  mine. 

t  Martin,  Narrative,  14.  The  writer  says  that  175  Indians  were  killed. 
Lancey  says  that  the  Indians  were  "defeated"  with  considerable  loss.  Cruise 
oj  the  Dale.  44.  There  is  not  the  slightest  evidence  of  hostile  intent  on  the 
part  of  the  Indians.  They  were  probably  having  one  of  their  annual  pow-wows 
or  dances. 


Notes  387 

to  Oregon.  Martin  says:  "We  followed  up  the  Sacra- 
mento killing  plenty  of  game  and  an  occasional  Indian. 
Of  the  latter  we  made  it  a  rule  to  spare  none  of  the 
bucks."*  On  the  8th  of  May  Fremont  had  reached  the 
northern  end  of  Klamath  lake  where  his  further  progress 
was  barred  by  lofty  snow  covered  mountains  and  hostile 
Indians,  and  he  determined  to  retrace  his  steps  and 
return  east  by  way  of  the  Colorado  river.  Late  on  the 
evening  of  that  day  two  horsemen  rode  into  camp  with 
the  information  that  a  United  States  officer  was  approach- 
ing— two  days  behind — with  dispatches;  that  he  had 
but  a  small  escort  and  was  in  danger.  The  following 
morning  Fremont  with  nine  of  his  men  started  back  and 
after  a  ride  of  twenty-five  miles  met  Archibald  H.  Gillespie 
at  nightfall.  Gillespie,  a  lieutenant  of  marines,  United 
States  navy,  had  been  sent  in  October  1845,  by  James 
Buchanan,  secretary  of  state,  as  bearer  of  a  duplicate 
of  secret  instructions  to  Larkin,  with  whom  he  was  to 
co-operate,  and  he  was  ordered  to  communicate  the 
contents  of  the  dispatch  to  Fremont.  Gillespie  com- 
mitted his  dispatch  to  memory  before  reaching  Vera 
Cruz  and  destroyed  the  written  duplicate.  Then  crossing 
Mexico  he  reached  Monterey  in  April  1846.  He  re-wrote 
the  dispatch  for  Larkin  and  then  proceeded  to  the  Sacra- 
mento to  find  Fremont,  to  whom  he  also  carried  a  letter 
of  introduction  from  Buchanan  and  a  package  of  letters 
from  Benton.  He  presented  his  letter  of  introduction 
to  Fremont,  repeated  to  him  the  contents  of  the  secret 
dispatch  and  delivered  the  package  of  family  letters. 
No  watch  was  kept  in  camp  that  night  and  about  mid- 
night there  was  an  attack  by  Klamath  Indians  and  three 
of  Fremont's  men  were  killed.  The  Indians  were  repulsed 
with  the  loss  of  a  chief  and  in  the  morning  the  party 


*  Narrative  page  15. 


388       The  Beginnings  of  San  Francisco 

started  north  to  join  the  main  body.  On  the  return 
march  the  party  wrecked  terrible  vengeance  on  the 
Indians,  and  on  May  24th  reached  Lassen's.  A  few 
days  later  they  encamped  at  the  Marysville  Buttes, 
fifty  miles  below.* 

In  the  famous  secret  dispatch  to  Consul  Larkin  that 
official  was  informed  that  the  future  destiny  of  California 
was  of  anxious  solicitude  for  the  government  and  people 
of  the  United  States;  that  the  interests  of  our  commerce 
and  fisheries  on  the  Pacific  Ocean  demanded  of  the  consul 
that  he  should  exercise  the  greatest  vigilance  in  discover- 
ing and  defeating  any  attempts  which  might  be  made 
by  foreign  governments  to  acquire  control  over  that 
country.  "In  the  contest  between  Mexico  and  Cali- 
fornia," wrote  the  secretary,  "we  can  take  no  part, 
unless  the  former  should  commence  hostilities  against 
the  United  States;  but  should  California  assert  and 
maintain  her  independence,  we  shall  render  her  all  the 


i 


*  Benton  says:  "He  found  his  further  progress  completely  barred  by  the 
double  obstacle  of  hostile  Indians,  which  Castro  had  excited  against  him, 
and  the  lofty  mountains  covered  with  deep  and  fallen  snows.  *  *  *  Behind 
and  on  the  north  bank  of  the  San  Francisco  bay,  at  the  military  post  of  Sonoma, 
was  General  Castro  assembling  troops  with  the  avowed  intention  of  attacking 
both  Fremont's  party  and  all  the  American  settlers.  Thus,  his  passage  barred 
in  front  by  impassable  snows  and  mountains,  hemmed  in  by  savage  Indians 
who  were  thinning  the  ranks  of  his  little  party,  menaced  by  a  general  at  the 
head  of  tenfold  forces  of  all  arms,  the  American  settlers  marked  out  for  de- 
struction, his  men  and  horses  suffering  from  fatigue,  cold,  and  famine,  *  *  *  Cap- 
tain Fremont  determined  to  turn  on  his  pursuers  and  fight  them  instantly, 
without  regard  to  numbers,  and  seek  safety  for  his  party  and  the  American 
settlers  by  overturning  the  Mexican  government  in  California."  (Benton 
to  president.  Niles  Register.  Ixxi.  173-4).  So  is  history  made.  Upper  Kla- 
math, where  Fremont  was,  is  over  four  hundred  miles  by  the  most  direct  route 
from  Sonoma  where  General  Castro  at  the  head  of  "tenfold  forces  of  all  arms" 
was  supposed  to  be  menacing  Fremont's  rear.  The  hostility  of  the  Klamaths 
was  due  to  the  treatment  they  had  received  from  trappers  and  immigrants. 
The  Spaniards  had  never  been  in  that  country,  or  near  it. 


Notes  3  89 

kind  offices  in  our  power  as  a  sister  republic.  This 
government  has  no  ambitious  aspirations  to  gratify  and 
no  desire  to  extend  our  Federal  system  over  more  territory 
than  we  already  possess,  unless  by  the  free  and  spon- 
taneous wish  of  the  independent  people  of  adjoining 
territories.  The  exercise  of  compulsion  or  improper 
influence  would  be  repugnant  both  to  the  policy  and 
principles  of  this  government.  But  whilst  these  are  the 
sentiments  of  the  president,  he  could  not  view  with 
indifference  the  transfer  of  California  to  Great  Britain 
or  any  other  European  power.  The  system  of  coloni- 
zation by  foreign  monarchies  on  the  North  American 
continent  must  and  will  be  resented  by  the  United  States." 
The  secretary  enlarges  on  the  evils  of  European  coloni- 
zation and  acquisition,  and  states  that  his  remarks  are 
inspired  by  the  act  of  Rae,  agent  for  the  Hudson's  Bay 
company,  in  furnishing  the  Californians  with  arms  and 
money  to  enable  them  to  expel  the  Mexicans  from  the 
country  during  the  previous  fall,  and  that  now  the 
Mexican  troops  are  about  to  invade  the  province,  insti- 
gated thereto  by  the  British  government.  *'0n  all 
proper  occasions,"  he  says,  "you  should  not  fail  to  warn 
the  government  and  people  of  California  of  the  danger 
of  such  interference  to  their  peace  and  prosperity — to 
inspire  them  with  a  jealousy  of  European  dominion  and 
to  arouse  in  their  bosoms  that  love  of  liberty  and  inde- 
pendence so  natural  to  the  American  Continent.  *  *  * 
"Whilst  the  president  will  make  no  effort  and  use  no 
influence  to  induce  California  to  become  one  of  the  free 
and  independent  states  of  this  union,  yet  if  the  people 
should  desire  to  unite  their  destiny  with  ours,  they  would 
be  received  as  brethren,  whenever  this  can  be  done  without 
affording  Mexico  just  cause  of  complaint.  Their  true 
policy,  for  the  present,  in  regard  to  this  question,  is  to 
let  events  take  their  course,  unless  an  attempt  should  be 


390       The  Beginnings  of  San  Francisco 

made  to  transfer  them,  without  their  consent,  either  to 
Great  Britain  or  France.  This  they  ought  to  resist  by- 
all  the  means  in  their  power  as  ruinous  to  their  best  inter- 
ests and  destructive  of  their  freedom  and  independence." 

He  assures  Mr.  Larkin  that  our  countrymen  in  Cali- 
fornia have  the  cordial  sympathy  and  friendship  of  the 
president  and  that  their  conduct  is  appreciated  by  him 
as  it  deserves. 

Mr.  Larkin  is  informed  that  he  is  appointed  a  con- 
fidential agent  in  California,  in  addition  to  his  consular 
functions,  but  he  must  take  care  not  to  awaken  the 
jealousy  of  the  French  and  English  agents  there  by 
assuming  any  other  than  a  consular  character.  The 
state  department  would  like  to  be  informed  of  the  progress 
of  events  and  the  disposition  of  the  authorities  and  people 
towards  the  United  States  and  other  governments;  also 
the  aggregate  population  with  the  proportion  of  Mexican, 
American,  British,  and  French  citizens,  the  feelings  of 
each  class  towards  the  United  States,  the  names  and 
character  of  the  principal  persons  in  the  government  and 
other  distinguished  and  influential  citizens,  and  other 
matters  pertaining  to  trade,  finance,  and  resources. 
Larkin's  compensation  was  fixed  at  the  rate  of  six  dollars 
a  day  and  necessary  expenses.  The  letter  was  dated 
October  17,  1845,  and  received  by  Larkin  April  17,  1846. 

From  the  fact  that  Lieutenant  Gillespie  was  instructed 
to  show  Fremont  the  secret  dispatch,  we  must  infer  that 
the  orders  to  Larkin  were  also  the  orders  to  Fremont. 
So  particular  were  Gillespie's  instructions  regarding  Fre- 
mont that  two  days  after  reaching  Monterey  he  started 
to  find  the  captain  to  communicate  to  him  the  wishes  of  the 
governmentof  the  United  States ;  and  this  he  did  at  no  small 
risk  to  himself.  He  pretended  to  be  an  invalid  merchant 
traveling  for  his  health,  but  was  suspected  of  being  a 
secret  agent  of  the  United  States  government  and  wa 


Notes  391 

liable  to  be  arrested  as  a  spy.  Sutter  notified  Castro 
of  the  arrival  of  Gillespie  at  New  Helvetia  and  said  that 
in  spite  of  his  pretence  of  being  an  invalid  in  search  of 
health,  with  family  letters  for  Fremont,  he  believed  he 
was  a  United  States  officer  with  dispatches. 

The  government  of  the  United  States  instructed  its 
consular  agent  in  California  to  whom  Mexico  had  in 
good  faith  issued  its  exequatur,  to  intrigue  with  the  officers 
and  people  of  that  province  to  persuade  them  to  separate 
the  department  from  Mexico  and  declare  her  inde- 
pendence, under  the  assurance  that  we  would  "render  her 
all  the  kind  offices  in  our  power."  We  may  have  our 
opinion  concerning  the  morality  of  this  dispatch  and  may 
disapprove  the  secret  instructions  to  Larkin,  but  they 
were  the  orders  of  the  government  to  its  agents  and  it 
is  clear  that  the  orders  to  Larkin  were  also  orders  to 
Fremont. 

Let  us  see  then  how  the  young  captain  of  engineers 
obeyed  his  orders.  First  however  we  will  consider  the 
orders  in  their  relation  to  the  Californians  and  see  how 
far  they  are  in  harmony  with  orders  issued  to  the  naval 
and  military  commanders.  On  June  24,  1845,  Bancroft, 
secretary  of  the  navy,  wrote  to  Commodore  Sloat  on 
the  Pacific  station  as  follows:  "If  you  ascertain  with 
certainty  that  Mexico  has  declared  war  against  the 
United  States,  you  will  at  once  possess  yourself  of  the 
port  of  San  Francisco,  and  blockade  or  occupy  such 
other  ports  as  your  force  may  permit.  *  *  *  You  will  be 
careful  to  preserve  if  possible  the  most  friendly  relations 
with  the  inhabitants,  and  *  *  *  will  encourage  them  to 
adopt  a  course  of  neutrality."  To  General  Kearny,  the 
secretary  of  war  wrote  June  3,  1846:  "In  your  whole 
conduct  you  will  act  in  such  a  manner  as  best  to  conciliate 
the  inhabitants  and  render  them  friendly  to  the  United 
States."     In  the  secret  dispatch  Larkin  (and  Fremont) 


392       The  Beginnings  of  San  Francisco 

are  instructed  to  assure  the  Californians  that  the  govern- 
ment of  the  United  States  stands  ready  to  render  them 
all  the  kind  offices  in  its  power,  and  that  "if  the  people 
should  desire  to  unite  their  destiny  with  ours,  they  would 
be  received  as  brethren."  We  see  therefore,  that  in 
addition  to  instructions  relative  to  the  machinations  of 
foreign  powers,  the  United  States  agents,  civil  and 
military,  were  instructed  to  cultivate  friendly  relations 
with  the  Californians  and  prepare  them  for  a  peaceful 
change  of  flag,  if,  indeed,  California  could  not  be  induced 
to  apply  for  admission  as  "one  of  the  free  and  independent 
states  of  this  union."* 

On  the  30th  of  May  Fremont  was  again  encamped  at 
the  Buttes  where,  as  he  says  in  his  Memoirs,  his  camp 
became  the  rendezvous  for  the  settlers  and  whence  he 
sent  out  agents  to  stir  up  the  restless  and  the  roving 
among  them  and  incite  them  to  violence  by  stories  of 
what  the  blood-thirsty  Spaniards  were  going  to  do  to 
them.  William  B.  Ide,  who  arrived  in  California  in 
October  1845,  and  was  living  on  Belden's  rancho.  Barranca 
Colorado  (Red  Bluff),  says  that  a  letter,  without  signature, 
was  delivered  to  him  by  an  Indian  in  which  was  stated 
that  two  hundred  and  fifty  Spaniards  were  coming 
up  the  valley,  destroying  crops,  burning  houses,  and 
driving  off  cattle.  "Captain  Fremont  invites  every 
freeman  in  the  valley  to  come  into  his  camp  at  the  Buttes 
immediately  and  he  hopes  to  stay  the  enemy  and  put 
a  stop  to  his  operations."  Ide  received  this  letter  June 
8th  and  hastened  to  the  camp.  To  him  Fremont  un- 
folded his  plan,  which  was:  to  select  a  dozen  men  who 
had  nothing  to  lose  and  everything  to  gain  and  encourage 
them    to   commit   depredations    upon    the   Californians, 

*  2gth  Cong.  2d.  Ses.  House.  Ex.  Doc.  19. 
31st  Cong.  1st  Ses.  House  Ex.  Doc.  ly. 
Buchanan's  Instructions  MS.  Bancroft  Coll. 


Notes  393 

run  off  their  stock  and  take  their  horses;  then  make 
prisoners  of  some  of  their  principal  men  and  provoke 
Castro  to  strike  the  first  blow  and  bring  on  hostilities, 
when  the  United  States  government  would  have  to  inter- 
fere. Meanwhile,  the  men  who  committed  the  outrages 
would  be  provided  with  fleet  horses  and  make  their 
escape  into  the  territory  of  the  United  States.  Ide 
says  that  he  would  not  consent  to  commit  depredations 
against  Castro  and  then  run  away  and  was  quite  indignant 
against  Fremont  for  making  such  a  suggestion.*  Fremont 
argued  with  him  and  showed  how  badly  the  foreigners 
had  been  treated  by  the  Californians  and  said  they  should 
retaliate.  At  the  moment  this  conference  was  taking 
place,  a  party  sent  out  by  Fremont  was  actually  engaged 
in  a  raid  upon  the  Californians.  Lieutenant  Arce  with  a 
party  of  eight  men  was  conducting  a  band  of  one  hundred 
and  seventy  horses  from  Sonoma  to  Santa  Clara,  for 
the  use  of  the  government;  information  of  this  had  been 
brought  to  Fremont's  camp,  and  a  party  of  twelve  or 
fourteen  men  under  Ezekiel  Merritt  was  sent  to  cut 
them  off.  Merritt,  Fremont  says  in  his  Memoirs,  was 
his  field  lieutenant  among  the  settlers. f  John  Bidwell 
says  the  party  was  made  up  of  roving  hunters  and  trappers. 
Merritt  and  his  men  came  upon  Arce  at  Martin  Murphy's 
rancho  on  the  Cosumnes,  and  captured  the  Californians, 
no  resistance  being  made.  The  prisoners  were  released 
and  sent  back  to  Castro  with  the  message  that  if  he 


*  Ide:     Biographical  Sketch,  107-I19. 

tjohn  Bidwell  says  of  Merritt:  "He  could  neither  read  nor  write.  He 
was  an  old  mountaineer  and  trapper;  lived  with  an  Indian  squaw  and  went 
clad  in  buckskin.  *  *  ♦  He  chewed  tobacco  to  a  disgusting  excess  and  stam- 
mered badly.  He  boasted  of  his  prowess  in  killing  Indians  and  the  handle  of 
the  tomahawk  he  carried  had  nearly  a  hundred  notches  to  record  the  number 
of  his  Indian  scalps.  He  drank  deeply  whenever  he  could  get  liquor.  Cent. 
Mag.  xix.  523. 


394       The  Beginnings  of  San  Francisco 

wanted  his  horses  he  could  come  and  take  them,  and 
that  they  proposed  to  take  Sonoma  and  continue  the  war. 
The  horses  were  driven  to  Fremont's  camp  which  had  been 
removed  to  Bear  river,  and  which  the  marauders  reached 
June  nth.  Merritt's  force  was  increased  to  twenty  men 
and  they  left  Fremont's  camp  on  the  afternoon  of  the 
same  day  and  crossed  the  hills  into  Napa  Valley  that 
night.  They  remained  in  Napa  valley  two  days  during 
which  time  their  number  was  increased  to  thirty-two  or 
thirty-three  men.  At  dawn  of  June  14th  they  presented 
themselves  at  the  house  of  General  Vallejo  at  Sonoma, 
calling  upon  him  to  surrender.  Hastily  dressing  himself 
Vallejo  opened  the  door  and  Inquired  the  object  of  this 
unceremonious  visit.  He  was  informed  he  was  a  prisoner 
and  must  surrender  the  frontier  post  and  government 
property  in  his  hands.  Vallejo  courteously  Invited  them 
to  enter  and  draw  up  articles  of  capitulation.  Merritt 
and  Semple  entered,  with  William  Knight  as  Interpreter, 
and  when  Vallejo  inquired  by  whose  authority  this 
was  done,  he  was  informed  that  they  were  acting  under 
Fremont's  orders.  Relieved  to  find  a  United  States  officer 
in  command  of  the  war  Vallejo  set  refreshments  before 
the  men  while  the  terms  of  surrender  were  being  discussed. 
Lieutenant-colonel  Prudon  and  Captain  Salvador  Vallejo 
came  over  to  the  general's  house  and  were  arrested,  and 
Jacob  P.  Leese  was  brought  in  to  act  as  interpreter. 
The  men  outside,  weary  of  waiting,  elected  John  Grigsby 
captain  and  sent  him  in  to  see  what  was  doing.  Grigsby 
took  a  hand  in  the  negotiations — and  the  drink,  and 
after  waiting  a  long  time  the  men  sent  In  Ide  to  investigate 
the  cause  of  delay.  Under  the  influence  of  the  general's 
hospitality  very  favorable  articles  were  drawn  up  and 
signed,  guaranteeing  the  lives,  property,  and  religion 
of  the  prisoners  and  others  of  that  jurisdiction,  so  long 
as  they  made  no  opposition.     Ide  took  the  document 


Notes  395 

out  and  read  it  to  the  men  who,  It  appears,  had  also 
succeeded  In  getting  something  to  drink.  Some  of  the 
men  were  inclined  to  be  Insubordinate  and  it  was  decided 
by  them  to  send  the  Californians  prisoners  to  Sutters' 
fort,  Instead  of  taking  their  parole  and  releasing  them. 
Among  the  gallant  band  who  thus  disturbed  the  seren- 
ity of  the  peaceful  little  town  was  Doctor  Robert  Semple, 
a  native  of  Kentucky,  printer  and  dentist  by  trade,  who 
reached  California  with  a  belated  party  on  December 
25,  1845,  and  had  therefore  been  In  the  territory  not 
quite  six  months.  Dr.  Semple,  an  honest,  kindly  man, 
ambitious  to  do  great  things,  a  ready  speaker,  with  perfect 
confidence  in  himself  and  without  the  slightest  sense 
of  humor,  has  left  for  us  In  winged  words  the  lofty  story 
of  the  Sonoma  revolution;  for  he  became  the  historian 
of  the  Bear  Flag  war.  "The  world  has  not  hitherto 
manifested  so  high  a  degree  of  civilization,"  he  says, 
"for  the  party  did  no  wrong,  its  watchword  being 'equal 
rights  and  equal  laws.'  One  single  man,  who  in  the 
innocence  of  his  heart  made  a  natural  Interpretation 
of  the  watchword,  cried  out,  'Let  us  make  a  fair  and 
equal  division  of  the  spoils,'  but  one  universal,  dark, 
and  Indignant  frown  made  him  sink  from  the  presence 
of  honest  men,  and  from  that  time  forward  no  man  dared 
to  hint  anything  like  violating  the  sanctity  of  a  private 
house,  or  touching  private  property."  Supplies  for  the 
troops  were  "borrowed"  on  the  faith  and  credit  of  the 
Bear  Flag  government,  but  there  Is  no  doubt  that  the 
efforts  of  Semple,  Grigsby,  and  a  few  others,  prevented 
indiscriminate  plunder.  "Their  children,  in  generations 
yet  to  come  will  look  back  with  pleasure  upon  the  com- 
mencement of  a  revolution  carried  on  by  their  fathers 
upon   principles   high   and   holy   as   the  laws  of  eternal 


396       The  Beginnings  of  San  Francisco 

justice."*  Returning  to  his  home  from  two  month's 
imprisonment,  General  Vallejo  found  the  filibusters  and 
their  successors  had  taken  from  his  rancho  all  his  live 
stock,  all  his  crops,  and  many  other  things  of  value. 
He  had  lost  one  thousand  head  of  cattle  and  over  six 
hundred  tame  horses.  The  "dark,  indignant  frown" 
was  evidently  out  of  working  order. 

Before  the  prisoners  set  out  for  Sacramento,  a  meeting 
was  held  by  the  revolutionists  to  decide  upon  a  plan  of 
operation.  The  question  asked  by  Vallejo:  by  whose 
authority  had  he  been  arrested,  had  caused  some  inquiry 
among  the  men.  It  was  understood  that  the  movement 
was  by  Fremont's  order,  but  the  fact  was  no  one  could 
produce  the  order.  Confusion  reigned.  Grigsby,  who 
had  been  elected  captain,  vice  Merritt,  deposed,  ex- 
claimed: "Gentlemen,  I  have  been  deceived;  I  cannot 
go  with  you;  I  resign  and  back  out  of  the  scrape."  One 
said  he  would  not  stay  to  guard  the  prisoners;  another 
swore  that  they  would  all  have  their  throats  cut;  another 
called  for  fresh  horses;  all  were  on  the  move,  each  man 
for  himself.  The  crisis  had  come,  and  with  it  the  man. 
With  that  quick  insight  which  is  an  attribute  of  genius, 
William  B.  Ide  realized  the  peril  of  the  moment.  In 
trumpet  tones  he  called  to  the  receding  men:  "We 
need  no  horses;  saddle  no  horse  for  me;  I  can  go  to  the 
Spaniards  and  make  freemen  of  them.  I  will  lay  my 
bones  here  before  I  will  take  upon  myself  the  ignominy 
of  commencing  an  honorable  work  and  then  flee  like 
cowards,  like  thieves,  when  no  enemy  is  in  sight.  In 
vain  will  you  say  you  had  honorable  motives.  Who 
will  believe  it.''  Flee  this  day,  and  the  longest  life  cannot 
wear  out  your  disgrace!     Choose  ye  this  day  what  you 

*  Bryant:  What  I  Saw  in  California,  290.  Dr.  Sample  with  Walter  Cotton 
started  the  Californian,  the  first  paper  published  in  California.  He  was  also 
president  of  the  constitutional  convention. 


Notes  397 

will  be,"  he  cried  with  impassioned  eloquence.  "We 
are  robbers,  or  we  must  be  conquerors."  The  day  was 
won.  With  renewed  hope  the  men  gathered  about  him 
and  made  him  commander-in-chief.* 

A  guard  of  ten  or  twelve  men  took  the  prisoners  to 
Sacramento,  the  order  being  given  to  the  guard  to  "shoot 
the  damned  greasers  if  they  attempt  to  escape,"  an  order 
in  shocking  contrast  to  the  lofty  spirit  and  aim  of  these 
patriots  of  six  months'  residence.  Arriving  at  the 
American  river  whither  Fremont  had  removed  his  camp 
the  captives  were  brought  to  him,  but  he  declined  to 
receive  them  saying  that  he  was  not  responsible  for 
what  had  been  done.  They  were,  therefore,  taken  to 
Sutter's  fort  and  locked  in  a  room  containing  no  furniture 
except  some  rude  benches,  without  blankets,  and  with 
neither  food  nor  water  until  eleven  o'clock  the  next  day, 
when  an  Indian  was  sent  in  with  a  pot  of  soup  and  meat 
which  they  might  eat  as  best  they  could  without  spoons 
or  dishes.  Fremont  also  ordered  the  arrest  of  Leese  as 
a  "bad  man,"  which  made  Leese  very  angry,  and  he  was 
locked  up  with  the  rest. 

Considering  Vallejo's  rank,  his  character,  and  his 
known  friendly  attitude  towards  the  United  States,  his 
arrest  and  confinement  in  prison  was  a  great  outrage. 
He  had,  time  and  again,  shown  favor  to  American  im- 
migrants notwithstanding  the  strict  orders  of  the  supreme 
government,  and  probably  some  of  these  very  men  who 
had  captured  him  had  received  his  help  during  the 
proceeding  winter. f  To  be  treated  like  a  convict,  kept 
in  close  confinement,  allowed  no  communication  with 
friends  or  family,  and  insulted  by  coarse,  vulgar  fellows, 

*  Ide:     Biographical  Sketch. 

t  The  Grigsby-Ide  party,  members  of  which  formed  one  half  of  the  Bear 
Flag  party,  arrived  in  California  on  October  25,  1845,  and  most  of  them  wintered 
in  Sacramento  and  Sonoma. 


398       The  Beginnings  of  San  Francisco 

was  very  hard  for  the  general  and  his  health  broke  under 
it.  Sutter  endeavored  to  show  the  prisoners  some  kind- 
ness until  warned  that  he  would  be  himself  arrested.* 

Thus  did  the  young  officer  set  about  the  execution  of 
his  orders.  It  would  seem  to  be  a  peculiar  way  to 
cultivate  "the  most  friendly  relations"  with  the  people 
of  California  and  to  "make  them  feel  that  we  come  as 
deliverers,"  by  stealing  their  horses,  insulting  their 
magistrates,  and  imprisoning  their  chief  citizens.  We 
have  seen  that,  instead  of  obeying  the  instructions  he 
received  through  Gillespie,  from  the  moment  he  pitched 
his  camp  at  the  Buttes  after  his  return  from  the  Oregon 
border,  he  began  to  stir  up  the  "settlers."  He  tells  us 
so  himself .f  Rumors  of  an  impending  attack  from  Castro, 
of  rising  of  Indians,  and  the  proposed  burning  of  the 
wheat  fields  of  the  settlers  were  spread  through  the  valley. 

Let  us  see  what  authority  there  was  for  these  rumors. 
John  Bidwell,  a  man  of  standing,  then  and  since,  who 
was  at  the  time  Captain  Sutter's  business  man  at  the 
fort,  says:  "There  were  not  at  that  time  over  twenty- 
one  persons  who  had  located  ranchos  and  were  living 
on  them  or  had  others  occupying  the  same  for  them. 
There  were,  however,  a  good  many  without  homes  or  any 
intentions  of  making  homes,  staying,  some  at  the  places 
occupied  by  others  and  some,  and  by  far  the  greater 
part,  camped  about  the  Sacramento  valley  hunting. 
This  floating  population  would  probably  number  three 
times  as  many  as  those  permanently  settled. 

"The  Americans  in  the  Sacramento  valley  had  no 
fear  whatever  about  Castro  coming  to  attack  them;  on 
the  contrary  they  were  able,  as  they  knew,  to  cope  with 
any  force  he  could  bring  against  them. 

*  Leese  says  in  his  Bear  Flag  Revolt,  p.  i6,  that  Fremont  threatened  to  hang 
Sutter. 

t  Memoirs,  p.  509. 


Notes  399 

"This  floating  population  had  all  to  gain  and  nothing 
to  lose.  They  wanted  a  war.  I  doubt  whether  any 
permanent  settlers  went  to  Fremont's  camp.  Fremont 
sent  men — not  of  his  own  expedition — to  capture  the 
horses  (of  Arce).  Captain  Sutter  denounced  the  act  as 
an  outrage.  *  *  *  The  reason  given  for  the  (Bear  Flag) 
movement  was  news  to  me,  and  I  think  to  most  others."* 

He  says,  that  there  were  no  permanent  settlers  in  the 
party;  that  the  war  was  not  begun  in  defense  of  American 
settlers,  that  Fremont  began  the  war;  that  to  him  belongs 
all  the  credit;  and  upon  him  rests  all  the  responsibility.! 

While  at  the  Buttes,  on  May  30th,  Fremont  sent 
Lieutenant  Gillespie  to  Captain  Montgomery,  command- 
ing the  Portsmouth,  for  supplies  to  enable  him  to  proceed 
homeward,  which  he  announced  to  be  his  immediate 
intention,  by  way  of  the  Rio  Colorado.  Gillespie  reached 
Yerba  Buena  June  7th  and  Montgomery  immediately 
honored  the  requisition.  Gillespie  made  no  mention 
of  Fremont's  filibustering  operations  and  a  friend,  whom 
he  met  in  Yerba  Buena,  put  in  his  hand  a  letter  written 
to  some  person  in  the  east  to  be  taken  "by  the  gallant 
Captain  Fremont  who  is  now  encamped  in  the  Sacramento 
and  about  to  proceed  directly  to  the  United  States." 
Fremont  also  wrote  to  Larkin  June  ist  enclosing  a  letter 
to  Benton,  and  to  both  he  announced  his  intention  of 
starting  at  once  for  the  States.  The  Portsmouth's 
launch  was  loaded  with  the  supplies  to  enable  the  survey- 
ing party  to  return  home  and  reached  Sutter's  fort  June 
1 2th.  By  the  returning  boat  Fremont  wrote  Mont- 
gomery (in  part)  as  follows: 

"New  Helvetia,  June  i6,  1846. 

*  *  *  "This  evening  I  was  interrupted  in  a  note  to  yourself 

*  California  in  1841S  MS.  159-168.  Ban.  Coll.  There  is  plenty  of  other 
testimony  to  the  same  effect. 

t  John  Bidwell  to  Rev.  Dr.  Willey:    Digest  in  Royce's  California,  99-102. 


400       The  Beginnings  of  San  Francisco 

by  the  arrival  of  General  Vallejo  and  other  officers  who  had 
been  taken  prisoners  and  insisted  upon  surrendering  to  me. 
The  people  and  authorities  of  the  country  persist  in  connecting 
with  me  every  movement  of  the  foreigners  and  I  am  hourly 
in  expectation  of  the  approach  of  General  Castro. 

*  *  *  "The  nature  of  my  instructions  and  the  peaceful 
nature  of  my  operations  do  not  contemplate  any  active  hostility 
on  my  part,  even  in  the  event  of  war  between  the  two  countries; 
and  therefore,  although  I  am  resolved  to  take  such  active 
and  precautionary  measures  as  I  shall  judge  necessary,  I  am 
not  authorized  to  ask  from  you  any  other  than  such  assistance 
as,  without  incurring  yourself  unusual  responsibility,  you 
would  feel  at  liberty  to  afford  me.  "* 

In  a  letter  to  Benton  dated  July  25,  1846,  Fremont 
details  the  events  following  the  meeting  with  Gillespie 
at  Klamath  lake  and  says  that  on  June  6th  he  decided 
on  the  course  he  would  pursue,  "and  immediately  con- 
certed my  operations  with  the  foreigners  inhabiting  the 
Sacramento  valley."  He  gives  Benton  an  account  of 
the  capture  of  Arce's  horses,  the  surprise  and  capture 
on  June  15th,  of  the  military  fort  of  Sonoma,  with  nine 
brass  pieces  of  artillery;  two  hundred  and  fifty  stands 
of  muskets;  other  arms  and  a  quantity  of  ammunition; 
also  General  Vallejo  and  other  prisoners,  who  were  placed 
at  New  Helvetia,  "a  fortified  post  under  my  command." 
Having  accomplished  this  he  proceeded  to  the  American 
settlements  on  the  Sacramento  and  the  Rio  de  los  Ameri- 
canos to  obtain  reinforcements  of  men  and  rifles.  He 
says  that  the  Information  carried  by  Gillespie  to  Captain 
Montgomery  of  the  Portsmouth  concerning  his  position 
caused  Montgomery  to  dispatch  his  launch  to  Fremont 
with  aid.  "I  Immediately  wrote  to  him,"  says  Fremont, 
"by  return  of  the  boat,  describing  to  him  fully  my  position 
and  Intentions,  In  order  that  he  might  not,  by  supposing 
me  to  be  acting  under  orders  from  our  government, 
unwittingly  commit  himself  to  affording  me  other  than 

*  Century  Magazine,     xix.  780. 


Notes  401 

such  assistance  as  his  instructions  would  authorize  him 
naturally  to  offer  an  officer  charged  with  an  important 
public  duty."* 

We  have  seen  this  letter  and  have  read  how  fully  Fre- 
mont described  to  the  naval  officer  his  position  and 
intentions. 

Meanwhile  Castro  had  written  Captain  Montgomery, 
under  date  of  June  17th,  demanding  an  explanation  of 
Fremont's  conduct.  To  this  letter  Montgomery  replied 
on  the  eighteenth,  in  a  tone  of  absolute  sincerity,  that 
Captain  Fremont's  mission  was  solely  scientific  in  its 
aims  and  that  it  was  in  no  manner  whatever,  either  by 
the  authority  of  the  United  States  or  otherwise,  connected 
with  the  political  movements  of  the  residents  of  the 
country  at  Sonoma. 

Captain  Montgomery's  awakening  came  later.  In 
his  diaryt  he  writes  on  June  28th  of  the  second  visit  of 
Lieutenant  Gillespie  who  gave  him  the  news  that  Fremont 
had  openly  joined  the  Bears  and  was  at  that  moment 
in  pursuit  of  Joaquin  de  la  Torre  in  the  San  Rafael  region. 
It  appears  that  after  the  re-organization  of  the  Bears 
and  the  election  of  Ide  as  commander-in-chief,  that 
officer  had  sent  an  emissary  to  the  naval  commander 
to  inform  him  of  the  breaking  out  of  the  war,  and  inci- 
dentally, to  obtain  a  supply  of  powder.  Captain  Mont- 
gomery informed  the  agent  of  the  Bear  Flag  republic 
that  his  position  as  a  naval  officer  in  a  foreign  port  pre- 
vented his  taking  any  part  in  internal  disorders,  and 
he  would  therefore  have  to  refuse  the  request  for  powder. 
"The  course  of  Captain  Fremont,"  says  Montgomery  in 

*  N lies  National  Register,  Nov.  21,  1846,  191.  This  letter,  emphasized  by 
Benton  in  most  vigorous  language,  was  sent  to  the  president  and  by  him 
repeated  in  public  documents  thus  becoming  the  authorized  version  of  historic 
events  preceeding  the  conquest. 

t  Century  Magazine,  xix.  780. 


4C2       The  Beginnings  of  San  Francisco 

his  diary,  "renders  my  position  as  a  neutral  particularly 
delicate  and  difficult.  Having  avowed  not  only  my  own 
but  Captain  Fremont's  entire  neutrality  and  non-inter- 
ference in  the  existing  difficulties  in  the  country,  it  can 
scarcely  be  supposed,  under  the  circumstances,  that  I 
shall  be  regarded  as  having  spoken  in  good  faith  and 
sincerity." 

After  comparing  Fremont's  letter  to  Montgomery  with 
that  to  Benton,  what  respect  is  it  possible  to  retain  for 
the  veracity  of  the  young  hero?  Not  only  in  his  letter 
to  Benton  does  he  assume  the  entire  direction  of  the  Bear 
Flag  rising,  but  in  his  Memoirs  he  again  states  that 
everything  was  done  by  his  orders. 

After  the  election  of  Ide  as  commander-in-chief  ("gov- 
ernor," he  claimed)  of  the  California  republic,  a  flag  was 
constructed  of  a  piece  of  unbleached  cotton  cloth  to  the 
bottom  of  which  was  sewn  a  strip  of  red  flannel.  In  the 
upper  left  hand  corner  of  the  white  field  was  drawn  a 
five  pointed  star,  outlined  in  ink  and  filled  in  with  red 
paint.  To  the  right  of  the  star  and  facing  it  was  drawn 
in  like  manner  what  was  intended  for  a  grizzly  bear, 
statant.  Under  the  emblems  was  the  legend,  California 
Republic,  in  black  ink.  Next,  it  occurred  to  the  comman- 
der-in-chief, a  proclamation  would  be  in  order,  that  the 
world  might  know  their  true  character  and  the  circum- 
stances which  had  compelled  them  to  assume  such  an 
unusual  position.  Ide  therefore  shut  himself  up  and  by 
morning  had  his  proclamation  ready  to  read  to  his  com- 
panions. In  it  the  commander-in-chief  assures  all  persons 
in  California,  not  found  under  arms,  protection  to  life, 
property,  and  religion.  He  declares  that  his  purpose 
is  to  defend  himself  and  his  brave  companions  who  had 
been  invited  to  the  country  by  promise  of  lands,  by  prom- 
ise of  a  republican  government,  and  who,  having  arrived 
In  California,  were  denied  even  the  privilege  of  buying 


Notes  403 

or  renting  lands,  and  Instead  of  being  allowed  to  partici- 
pate In  or  being  protected  by  a  republican  government, 
were  oppressed  by  a  military  despotism  and  were  even 
threatened  by  proclamation  with  extermination  if  they 
would  not  depart  out  of  the  country,  leaving  their  prop- 
erty, their  arms,  and  their  beasts  of  burden;  and  thus 
deprived  of  the  means  of  flight  or  defence,  they  were  to 
be  driven  through  deserts  inhabited  by  hostile  savages 
to  certain  death.     He  declares  their  purpose  to  overthrow 
the  government  which   has  despoiled   the  missions   and 
shamefully  oppressed  the  people  of  California — and  much 
more.     The    proclamation    with    its    false    and    absurd 
statements  having  been  read  to  the  assembled  "troops," 
Ide  sent  a  messenger  to  notify  Montgomery  of  the  change 
in  the  government  and  then  set  about  reorganizing  the 
army,   arranging  for  the   payment  of  the   public   debt, 
the  establishment  of  a  land  office,  a  survey  of  the  public 
domain,    and    regulations    concerning    the    tariff.     The 
charge  so  frequently  made  by  the  American  immigrants 
that  they  were  invited   to  California   by   a   promise  of 
lands  on  which  to  settle  is  ridiculous.     Their  very  en- 
trance into  California  was   in  violation  of  law  and   so 
disturbed    had    the    supreme    government    at    Mexico 
become    over    the    American    immigration,    that    strict 
orders  had  been  sent  to  the  governor  and  comandante- 
general  to  prevent  their  coming  into  the  department. 
But  as  the  arrival  of  the  overland  immigrants  was  usually 
late  in  the  fall  neither  Castro  nor  Vallejo  could  do  such 
violence  to  their  sentiments  of  hospitality  and  humanity 
as  to  force  the  immigrants,  in  their  weakened  condition 
with  their  wives  and  little  children,  to  re-cross  the  sierra 
in  winter  to   almost  certain  death.     The  officials   con- 
tented themselves  with  taking  bonds  for  good  behavior 
and  promises  to  depart  in  the  spring,  should  citizenship 
and   license   to   remain   be   denied.     These   bonds   were 


404       The  Beginnings  of  San  Francisco 

signed  by  those  who  had  come  earlier  and  had  become 
Mexican  citizens  and  owners  of  ranches.  George  Yount 
of  Napa  valley  was  very  good  to  the  immigrants  and  would 
sign  bonds  for  them  by  the  score.  A  number  of  the 
immigrants,  chiefly  hunters  and  trappers,  did  not  come 
into  the  settlements,  gave  no  bonds,  and  made  no  prom- 
ises. The  charge  that  the  government  had  despoiled 
the  missions  was  not  true,  but  even  if  it  had  been  so, 
it  was  no  affair  of  the  immigrants. 

In  the  reorganization  of  the  army  Henry  L.  Ford  was 
made  first  lieutenant;  Granville  P.  Swift  and  Samuel 
Gibson,  sergeants;  the  first  two  were  immigrants  of  1844, 
while  Gibson  came  in  1845. 

On  the  19th  of  June  two  men,  named  Cowie  and  Fowler, 
who  had  been  sent  by  Lieutenant  Ford  to  a  rancho  on 
the  Russian  river  to  obtain  powder,  were  captured  by 
a  small,  roving  band  of  Californians  under  Juan  Padilla, 
and  put  to  death.  The  killing  was  done  after  the  men 
had  surrendered  and  by  a  well  known  desperado  in  the 
band  named  Garcia,  called  by  Americans  "Four-Fingered 
Jack."  The  testimony  concerning  the  murder  is  con- 
flicting, but  it  is  said  that  the  men  were  tortured.  Two 
other  men  were  captured  by  this  same  band :  W.  L.  Todd, 
and  an  Englishman.  When  the  men  sent  by  Ford 
did  not  return,  he  sent  on  the  twentieth  Sergeant  Gibson 
with  four  men  to  the  rancho.  They  obtained  the  powder 
but  heard  nothing  of  the  two  men.  On  the  return 
Gibson  was  attacked  by  a  small  party  of  Californians 
which  he  beat  off,  wounding  one  and  capturing  one 
who  was  taken  a  prisoner  to  Sonoma.  From  the  captive 
was  learned  the  fact  of  the  murder  and  of  the  two  prisoners 
remaining  in  the  hands  of  the  Californians.  On  the 
twenty-third  Ide  sent  Lieutenant  Ford  with  seventeen 
or  eighteen  men  to  rescue  the  prisoners;  and  under 
guidance  of  Gibson's  captive  they  came  upon  the  Cali- 


Notes  405 

fornlans  at  the  Olompali  rancho,  on  San  Antonio  creek 
a  little  below  Petaluma,  on  the  morning  of  the  twenty- 
fourth.  Padilla's  band  had,  without  Ford's  knowledge, 
been  joined  by  a  larger  force  under  Joaquin  de  la  Torre. 

On  learning  of  the  outrage  at  Sonoma,  Castro  issued 
on  June  17th,  from  his  headquarters  at  Santa  Clara,  a 
proclamation  calling  upon  the  citizens  to  rise  and  protect 
the  country  from  invasion,  and  had,  with  some  difficulty, 
increased  his  army  to  about  one  hundred  and  sixty  men. 
Dividing  his  force  into  three  divisions  he  sent  one  under 
Joaquin  de  la  Torre  against  the  Bears  at  Sonoma.  With 
fifty  or  sixty  men  De  la  Torre  crossed  from  San  Pablo  to 
San  Quintin  on  the  evening  of  June  23d  and  proceeded 
to  San  Rafael.  Leaving  a  few  men  at  the  mission  he 
started  northward  and  effecting  a  junction  with  Padilla 
encamped,  early  on  the  morning  of  the  twenty-fourth,  at 
Olompali.  The  Californians  were  at  breakfast  when 
the  Americans  came  upon  them.  Seeing  a  larger  force 
than  he  expected  to  meet  Ford  ordered  his  men  to  dis- 
mount and  take  cover  behind  the  trees.  The  Californians 
charged  and  were  received  by  a  discharge  of  Bears' 
rifles  and  retired  with  the  loss  of  one  man  killed  and 
several  wounded.  The  Bears  released  the  prisoners, 
secured  some  horses  from  the  corral,  and  returned  to 
Sonoma.     This  was  the  first  battle  of  the  war. 

Up  to  this  time  Fremont  had  taken  no  active  part  in 
affairs.  Asked  to  head  the  uprising  he  had  replied  that 
he  was  a  United  States  officer  and  could  not  take  part 
in  an  Insurrection.  He  may  have  waited  to  see  if  some 
real  settlers  joined  the  movement — men  who  had  a  stake 
In  the  country.  He  sent  emissaries  to  Doctor  Marsh 
and  other  land  owners,  and  later  BIdwell,  Baldridge, 
Reading,  and  others  came  in,  some  of  whom  did  not 
approve  the  filibustering  plan,  but  joined,  believing  that 
Fremont  was  acting  under  secret  orders  from  his  govern- 


4o6       The  Beginnings  of  San  Francisco 

merit;  a  belief  that  was  general  among  both  Callfornians 
and  foreigners.  At  last  Fremont  decided  to  come  out 
into  the  open,  or,  as  he  says:  "I  decided  that  it  was  for 
me  to  govern  events  rather  than  to  be  governed  by  them. 
I  represented  the  Army  and  the  Flag  of  the  United 
States."*  Breaking  camp  on  the  American  river  June 
23d,  he  appeared  at  Sonoma  on  the  twenty-fifth  with 
his  entire  force  accompanied  by  some  thirty  settlers 
under  Samuel  J.  Hensley,  an  immigrant  of  1843.  Fre- 
mont at  once  assumed  command  of  the  Bears,  the  com- 
bined force  amounting  now  to  about  one  hundred  and 
sixty-five  men.  Leaving  a  garrison  to  hold  Sonoma, 
Fremont  at  the  head  of  one  hundred  and  thirty  men 
marched  to  San  Rafael  where  he  expected  to  find  De  la 
Torre.  Now  occurred  a  most  lamentable  incident;  and 
affair  that  must  leave  an  indelible  stain  upon  the  name 
of  Fremont — the  murder  of  Berreyesa  and  the  De  Haros. 
I  will  let  Jasper  O'Farrell  tell  the  story.  In  a  statement 
published  in  the  Los  Angeles  Star  September  27,  1856, 
O'Farrell  says:  "I  was  at  San  Rafael  in  June  1846  when 
the  then  Captain  Fremont  arrived  at  the  mission  with 
his  troops.  The  second  day  after  his  arrival  there  was 
a  boat  landed  three  men  at  the  mouth  of  the  estero  on 
Point  San  Pedro.  As  soon  as  they  were  discovered  by 
Fremont  there  were  three  men  (of  whom  Kit  Carson 
was  one)  detailed  to  meet  them.  They  mounted  their 
horses  and  after  advancing  about  one  hundred  yards 
halted  and  Carson  returned  to  where  Fremont  was 
standing  on  the  corridor  of  the  mission  in  company 
with  Gillespie,  myself  and  others,  and  said  'Captain, 
shall  I  take  those  men  prisoners.?'  In  response  Fremont 
waived  his  hand  and  said,  *I  have  got  no  room  for  pris- 
oners.' They  then  advanced  to  within  fifty  yards  of 
the  three  unfortunate  and  unarmed  Callfornians,  alighted 

*  Memoir:    520. 


Notes  407 

from  their  horses  and  deliberately  shot  them.  One  of 
of  them  was  an  old  and  respectable  Californian,  Don 
Jose  R.  Berreyesa,  whose  son  was  then  alcalde  of  Sonoma. 
The  other  two  were  twin  brothers  and  sons  of  Don 
Francisco  de  Haro,  a  citizen  of  the  Pueblo  of  Yerba 
Buena.  I  saw  Carson  some  two  years  ago  and  spoke 
to  him  of  this  act  and  he  assured  me  that  then  and  since 
he  regretted  to  be  compelled  to  shoot  those  men,  but 
Fremont  was  blood-thirsty  enough  to  order  otherwise, 
and  he  further  remarked  that  it  was  not  the  only  brutal 
act  he  was  compelled  to  commit  while  under  his  com- 
mand." Jose  de  los  Santos  Berreyesa,  the  alcalde  of 
Sonoma,  who,  with  his  two  brothers  had  been  imprisoned 
by  the  Bears,  says  that  his  mother  had  sent  the  father  t© 
Sonoma  to  ascertain  their  condition.  The  three  men  were 
unarmed  and  were  non-combatants.  They  had  left  their 
saddles  on  the  beach  and  were  walking  up  to  the  mission 
to  obtain  horses  to  continue  their  journey.*  So  far  as 
is  known,  no  one  of  them  was  connected  with  Castro's 
army.  Kit  Carson,  G.  P.  Swift,  and  a  French  Canadian 
trapper  of  Fremont's  company  are  named  by  contempo- 
rary writers  as  constituting  the  firing  party.  Fremont 
wrote  Benton,  in  the  letter  already  mentioned,  that  three 
of  Castro's  party  having  landed  in  advance  were  killed 
near  the  beach:  adding;  "beyond  this  there  was  no 
loss  on  either  side."  This  implies  an  engagement.  If 
so,  it  was  Fremont's  only  battle  during  the  conquest 
of  California.  In  his  Memoirs,  Fremont  says:  "My 
scouts,  mainly  Delawares,  influenced  by  feelings  of 
retaliation  (for  murder  of  Cowie  and  Fowler)  killed 
Berreyesa  and  de  Haro  who  were  the  bearers  of  inter- 
cepted   dispatches,  "t     Captain    Phelps    of    the    barque 

*  For  the  full  text  of  these  communications,  see  Appendix  D. 
t  Memoir  of  My  Life,  525.    This  does  not  agree  with   his   statements   to 
Benton,  and  both  statements  are  false. 


4o8       The  Beginnings  of  San  Francisco 

Moscow  makes  the  statement  that  on  the  body  of  one 
of  the  men  was  found  an  order  from  Castro  to  De  la 
Torre  to  kill  every  foreigner  he  could  find,  man,  woman, 
and  child.  This  absurd  story  has  been  repeated  by  sev- 
eral writers.  It  is  said  that  the  De  Haros  were  carrying 
dispatches  from  Castro  to  De  la  Torre,  which  was  probably 
the  fact.  The  testimony  of  Jasper  O'Farrell  has  never 
been  impeached.* 

The  position  of  De  la  Torre  was  not  a  pleasant  one. 
He  was  greatly  outnumbered  and  even  if  his  men  were 
equals  in  arms,  courage,  and  skill  of  those  who  were 
pursuing  him — which  they  were  not — he  stood  no  chance 
of  success  in  an  engagement.  He  therefore  prepared  a 
letter  announcing  his  intention  to  attack  Sonoma  the 
next  morning  (June  29th),  and  sent  it  out  by  an  Indian 
to  be  captured  by  Fremont's  scouts.  The  ruse  was 
successful.  Fremont  hurried  back  to  Sonoma  where  he 
arrived  before  daylight  of  the  twenty-ninth  and  De  la 
Torre  quietly  embarked  his  men — some  seventy-five  or 
eighty — in  a  lighter  at  Sausalito,  crossed  to  San  Pablo, 
and  joined  Castro  at  Santa  Clara.  On  July  ist  Fremont 
crossed  from  Sausalito  to  the  old  fort  at  San  Francisco, 
Castillo  de  San  Joaquin,  and  spiked  the  guns  lying  on 

*  Many  writers  of  the  time  speak  of  this  murder  and  a  few  attempt  to  justify 
it.  Ide  (Biog.  Sketch,  190)  says  that  the  men  fell  on  their  knees  and  begged 
for  quarter;  "but  the  orders  were  to  take  no  prisoners  from  this  band  of  mur- 
derers, and  the  men  were  shot  and  never  rose  from  the  ground."  Swasey 
(Cal.  *4S-6,  MS.  10)  says:  "The  firing  was  perfectly  justifiable  under  the 
circumstances."  Fowler  (Bear  Flag  Revolt.  5),  says:  "The  killing  of  old 
Berreyesa  and  two  youths  in  the  most  wanton  manner  somewhat  opened 
the  eyes  of  the  officers  in  command  to  the  fact  that  they  must  assume  a  stricter 
control  over  the  doings  of  their  subordinates."  He  puts  the  blame  on  Kit 
Carson  and  a  Canadian  Frenchmen,  both  of  whom,  he  says,  were  drunk. 
Charles  Brown,  an  immigrant  of  1828,  married  to  a  sister  of  the  De  Haros, 
says:  "The  murder  of  Jose  Reyes  Berreyesa  and  the  De  Haros  was  a  most 
infamous  act."  {Early  Events,  25-6).  The  bodies  were  stripped  and  lay 
unburied  where  they  fell  for  several  days. 


Notes  409 

the  ground,  as  has  been  told;  and  on  the  second,  Doctor 
Semple  landed  at  Yerba  Buena  with  ten  men,  captured 
that  valiant  Mexican  warrior,  Robert  Ridley,  and  sent 
him  to  join  the  other  prisoners  at  Sutter's  fort.  Fremont 
announced  to  Benton  that  he  had  defeated  De  la  Torre, 
driven  him  across  the  bay,  spiked  the  guns  of  the  fort, 
and  had  freed  from  all  Mexican  authority  the  territory 
north  of  the  bay  of  San  Francisco  from  the  sea  to  Sutter's 
fort.  He  writes  as  if  this  was  an  important  military 
campaign  in  which  he  had  swept  a  large  section  of  the 
country  clear  of  the  enemy.  The  guns  he  spiked  were 
large  and  handsome  pieces,  he  says,  but  he  does  not  say 
that  they  were  dismounted  and  lying  on  the  ground.* 
Fremont's  letter  of  July  25th  gives  to  Benton  the  history 
of  events  as  he  wished  them  to  appear,  from  the  meeting 
with  Gillespie  at  Klamath  to  the  transfer  of  command 
to  Stockton.  He  speaks  of  "Sonoma,  in  the  department 
of  Sonoma,  commanded  by  General  Vallejo, "  as  if  it 
were  a  real  military  department  commanded  by  a  general 
officer  with,  presumably,  a  military  force.  Again,  he  says: 
"At  daybreak  on  the  15th,  the  military  fort  of  Sonoma 
was  taken  by  surprise,"  etc.  The  term  "fort"  implies 
to  the  general  public,  a  fortified  place  defended  by  a 
garrison.  There  were  no  fortifications  at  Sonoma  and 
there  had  been  no  troops  there  for  two  years.  Vallejo's 
rank  in  the  regular  army  was  that  of  lieutenant-colonel,t 
and  at  this  time  he  had  no  military  command.  None 
of  these  things  are  explained  in  the  letter.  The  mission 
of  Santa  Clara  was  "a  strong  place"  and  San  Juan 
Bautista  was  "a  fortified  post."     There  were  no  forti- 


*  See  Gillespie's  testimony:  Note  40.  Gillespie  was  with  the  party. 
Bancroft  says  {Hist,  of  Cal.  v.  177):  "So  far  as  can  be  known,  not  one  of  the 
ten  cannon  offered  the  slightest  resistance." 

t  He  was  also  colonel  of  Second  Regiment,  Defensores  de  la  Patria,  a  militia 
organization  on  paper. 


4IO       The  Beginnings  of  San  Francisco 

fications  at  either  place,  unless  the  mission  churches 
may  be  so  termed.  The  statements  made  in  this  letter 
were  used  by  Benton  and  repeated  by  the  secretary 
of  war,  and  form  the  basis  of  Fremont's  claim  to  glory 
as  conqueror  of  California;  for  the  letter  is  a  summary 
of  his  active  military  service.  He  made  two  trips  to 
the  south  with  his  battalion  but  engaged  in  no  more 
battles. 

After  driving  De  la  Torre  from  the  field  Fremont 
returned  to  Sonoma  and  addressed  the  people,  July  5th, 
advising  a  course  of  operations  which  was  unanimously 
adopted.  California  was  declared  independent;  the 
country  was  put  under  martial  law;  the  force,  now  amount- 
ing to  two  hundred  and  twenty-four  men,  was  organized 
into  three  companies  with  Fremont  in  command,  and  all 
pledged  to  continue  in  service  as  long  as  necessary  for 
the  purpose  of  gaining  and  maintaining  the  independence 
of  California. 

These  proceedings  ended  the  political  career  of  that 
administrator,  William  B.  Ide,  who  strongly  resented  the 
unwarranted  interference  of  Captain  Fremont.  He  had 
accomplished  a  successful  revolution  and  now  came  this 
captain  of  engineers,  after  all  was  done,  to  claim  the  glory 
of  a  conqueror  and  to  present  to  the  United  States,  with 
his  compliments,  the  fair  province  of  California. 

Leaving  fifty  men  to  garrison  Sonoma,  Fremont 
marched  with  about  one  hundred  and  seventy  men  to 
the  Sacramento  and  moved  up  to  his  old  camp  on  the 
American  river  on  the  9th  of  July.  It  was  given  out, 
and  it  was  so  understood,  that  he  was  in  "pursuit  of 
Castro,"  but  on  the  tenth  an  express  from  Captain 
Montgomery  arrived  with  the  announcement  that  Com- 
modore Sloat  had  raised  the  flag  of  the  United  States. 
The  Bear  Flag  war  was  ended. 


Notes  411 

On  raising  the  flag  at  Monterey  Sloat  sent  a  summons 
to  Castro  at  Santa  Clara  to  surrender  his  forces  to  the 
United  States,  and  at  the  same  time  invited  the  general 
and  also  the  governor  to  a  conference  at  Monterey, 
assuring  the  governor  that  though  he  came  with  a  power- 
ful force,  he  came  as  the  best  friend  of  California.  Sloat's 
summons  reached  Castro  at  San  Juan  Bautista  July  8th 
and  that  officer  started  southward  with  what  remained 
of  his  army — about  one  hundred  men  —  to  join  forces 
with  Pico  for  the  national  defence. 

Leaving  Sacramento  July  12th  Fremont  marched  with 
one  hundred  and  sixty  men  and  two  guns  in  hot  pursuit 
of  Castro,  then  in  the  neighborhood  of  San  Luis  Obispo.* 
On  the  seventeenth  he  reached  San  Juan  Bautista  where 
he  met  a  company  of  dragoons  formed  from  the  sailors 
of  Sloat's  squadron  and  commanded  by  Daingerfield 
Fauntleroy,  purser  of  the  Savannah.  Assuming  com- 
mand of  the  combined  forces  of  the  army  and  navy 
Fremont  resumed  his  march  and  entered  Monterey 
July  19th,  where  his  fame  had  preceded  him,  and  where 
he  and  his  men  created  no  little  interest.  The  following 
picture  is  by  Lieutenant  Walpole  of  Admiral  Seymour's 
Collingwood:  "During  our  stay  Captain  Fremont  and 
his  party  arrived,  preceded  by  another  troop  of  American 
horse.  It  was  a  party  of  seamen  mounted.  *  *  *  Fre- 
mont's party  naturally  excited  curiosity.  Here  were 
true  trappers.  These  men  had  passed  years  in  the  wilds, 
living  on  their  own  resources.  They  were  a  curious 
set.  A  vast  cloud  of  dust  appeared  first,  and  thence 
in  a  long  file  emerged  this  wildest  wild  party.  Fremont 
rode  ahead,  a  spare,  active-looking  man,  with  such  an 
eye!  He  was  dressed  in  a  blouse  and  leggings,  and  wore 
a  felt  hat.     After  him  came  five  Delaware  Indians,  who 

*  The  distance  between  Sacramento  and  San  Luis  Obispo  is  about  three 
hundred  miles. 


412       The  Beginnings  of  San  Francisco 

were  his  bodyguard;  they  had  charge  of  two  baggage- 
horses.  The  rest,  many  of  them  blacker  than  the  Indians, 
rode  two  and  two,  the  rifle  held  by  one  hand  across  the 
pommel  of  the  saddle.  Thirty-nine  of  them  are  his 
regular  men,  the  rest  are  loafers  picked  up  lately.  His 
original  men  are  principally  backwoodsmen  from  Tennes- 
see and  the  banks  of  the  Missouri.  *  *  *  The  dress  of 
these  men  was  principally  a  long,  loose  coat  of  deer-skin, 
tied  with  thongs  in  front;  trousers  of  the  same,  of  their 
manufacture,  which,  when  wet  through  they  take  off, 
scrape  well  inside  with  a  knife,  and  put  on  as  soon  as 
dry.  The  saddles  were  of  various  fashions,  though  these 
and  a  large  drove  of  horses,  and  a  brass  field  gun,  were 
things  they  had  picked  up  in  California.  The  rest  of 
the  gang  were  a  rough  set;  and  perhaps  their  private, 
public,  and  moral  characters  had  better  not  be  too  closely 
examined.  They  are  allowed  no  liquor  *  *  *  and  the 
discipline  is  very  strict.  They  were  marched  up  to  an 
open  space  on  the  hills  near  the  town,  under  some  large 
firs,  and  there  took  up  their  quarters  in  messes  of  six  or 
seven^  in  the  open  air.  The  Indians  lay  beside  their 
leader."* 

Walter  Colton  saystf  "Monday,  July  20th.  Capt. 
Fremont  and  his  armed  band,  with  Lieut.  Gillespie  of 
the  marine  corps,  arrived  last  night  from  their  pursuit 
of  Gen.  Castro.  *  *  *  They  defiled,  two  abreast,  through 
the  principal  street  of  the  town.  The  citizens  glanced  at 
them  through  their  grated  windows.  Their  rifles,  revolv- 
ing pistols,  and  long  knives  glittered  over  the  dusky 
buckskin  which  enveloped  their  sinewy  limbs,  while 
their  untrimmed  locks,  flowing  out  from  under  their 
foraging  caps,  and  their  black  beards,  with  white  teeth 
glittering  through,  gave  them  a  wild,  savage  aspect." 

*  Walpole:     Four  Years  in  the  Pacific,  ii,  215-16. 
t  Deck  and  Port:     390-1. 


Notes  413 

These  men  were  not  United  States  troops;  they  were 
Fremont's  "hired  men,"  and  this  spectacular  entrance 
must  have  satisfied  even  the  theatrical  soul  of  that  young 
conqueror. 

Commodore  Sloat  had  heard  at  Mazatlan  on  the  17th 
of  May  of  trouble  on  the  Rio  Grande  between  General 
Taylor  and  the  Mexicans  and  on  the  thirty-first  he  learned 
of  the  battles  of  Palo  Alto  and  Resaca  de  la  Palma.  On 
the  7th  of  June  he  learned  that  the  ships  of  the  United 
States  were  blockading  the  gulf  ports  of  Mexico.  His 
instructions  from  the  secretary  of  the  navy  required  him 
to  take  possession  of  the  port  of  San  Francisco  and  other 
ports  of  California  immediately  on  learning  that  war 
had  been  declared  between  United  States  and  Mexico.* 
Uncertain  how  to  act,  not  having  specific  information 
that  war  had  been  declared  in  terms,  though  hostilities 
had  begun,  he  sailed  June  8th  for  Monterey  where  he 
arrived  July  2d.  Still  uncertain,  he  sent  an  officer  ashore 
to  tender  the  usual  civilities  by  offering  to  salute  the 
Mexican  flag,  which  honor  was  declined  for  want  of 
powder  to  return  the  salute. f  Larkin  came  on  board 
and  had  a  long  interview  with  the  commodore.  On  the 
third  the  commodore  landed  and  called  on  the  California 
authorities.  On  the  fifth  came  a  dispatch  from  Mont- 
gomery with  an  account  of  Fremont's  doings.  The 
sixth  was  spent  by  Sloat  in  consultation  with  Larkin  and 
in   preparation   for  landing.     Larkin   still   hoping  for  a 


*  Later  instructions  from  the  secretary  substituted  the  words  "in  the  event 
of  actual  hostilities"  for  this  sentence. 

t  It  was  a  matter  of  great  surprise  on  the  part  of  many  officers  that  the 
commodore  should  have  tendered  these  civilities,  knowing,  as  we  all  did, 
that  the  Mexican  government  had  already  commenced  offensive  operations 
against  our  army  on  the  Rio  Grande,  and  that  the  squadron  of  the  United 
States  was  blockading  the  gulf  coast  of  Mexico. "  Midshipman  J.  K.  Wilson 
before  Cal.  Claims  Commission,  30th  Cong.  1st  Ses.  Senate  Rep.  75. 


414       The  Beginnings  of  San  Francisco 

change  of  flag  by  consent  of  the  California  authorities, 
notwithstanding  the  acts  of  the  filibusters,  counseled 
delay,  but  the  commodore,  fearful  of  blame,  would  wait 
no  longer  and  the  next  morning,  Tuesday  July  7th, 
after  a  demand  for  surrender,  landed  two  hundred  and 
fifty  men  under  Captain  Mervine  and  took,  possession. 
On  arrival  at  Monterey  Fremont  called  on  the  com- 
modore and  in  reply  to  a  request  for  information  told 
him  that  in  what  he  had  done  he  had  acted  on  his  own 
responsibility  without  any  express  authority  from  the 
government  and  that  he  knew  nothing  whatever  about 
the  breaking-out  of  war.  Sloat  was  much  put  out  by  this 
piece  of  information  and  gave  the  captain  distinctly 
to  understand  that  in  raising  the  flag  at  Monterey  he 
had  acted  upon  the  faith  of  Fremont's  operations  in  the 
north.  Reports  of  the  interview  state  that  the  com- 
modore was  violent  in  his  denunciations  of  Fremont's 
conduct.  He  declined  to  adopt  Fremont's  plan  of 
conquest  or  to  accept  the  Bear  Flag  battalion  as  a  part 
of  the  United  States  forces.  In  short,  Sloat's  decision 
left  Fremont  without  any  standing  as  a  conqueror. 
Commodore  Stockton,  however,  had  arrived  in  the 
Congress  a  few  days  before  and  reported  to  Sloat  for 
duty.  Sloat  who  was  in  ill  health  and  had  asked  to  be 
sent  home,  had  on  July  23d  made  Stockton  commander- 
in-chief  of  the  land  forces,  and  on  the  twenty-ninth 
sailed  for  home,  leaving  Stockton  in  command  of  the 
squadron.  On  receiving  command  of  the  forces  operating 
on  land  Stockton  immediately  accepted  Fremont's  force 
of  one  hundred  and  sixty  men,  as  a  battalion  of  volunteers, 
giving  Fremont  the  rank  of  major,  Gillespie  that  of 
captain,  and  ordered  the  battalion  to  embark  on  the 
Cyane  for  San  Diego  for  the  conquest  of  the  south. 


Notes  415 

Stockton  was  a  conqueror  after  Fremont's  own  heart 
and  on  assuming  command  issued  a  proclamation* 
as  false  in  its  premises  and  as  full  of  buncombe  as  any 
hando  ever  issued  by  Mexican  revolutionist.  He  sailed 
on  the  Congress  for  San  Pedro  where  he  landed  three 
hundred  and  fifty  men  and  marched  to  Los  Angeles 
without  opposition  from  an  "exasperated  and  powerful 
enemy"  as  he  terms  Castro's  force,  meeting  Major 
Fremont's  battalion  just  outside  the  town,  and  the 
combined  forces  entered  the  pueblo  and  raised  the  United 
States'  flag  without  opposition  or  disapproval  on  the 
part  of  the  inhabitants,  Castro's  formidable  army  having 
melted  away  and  the  comandante-general  being  on  his 
way  to  the  City  of  Mexico. 

Considering  the  conquest  of  California  complete, 
Stockton  and  Fremont  returned  to  the  north  leaving 
Los  Angeles  in  charge  of  Gillespie  with  a  garrison  of 
fifty  men,  and  Santa  Barbara  in  charge  of  Lieutenant 
Talbot  with  a  garrison  of  nine.  Stockton  appointed 
Fremont  military  commandant  of  the  territory  and 
instructed  him  to  increase  his  battalion  to  three  hundred 
men  for  garrison  duty. 

On  September  29th  came  the  news  of  the  revolt  of 
the  Californians  in  the  south  and  Stockton  sent  Mervine 
in  the  Savannah  to  Gillespie's  assistance  and  sailed 
himself  in  the  Congress,  October  13th.  Soon  came  the 
news  of  Mervine's  defeat  at  San  Pedro  and  Fremont, 
now  made  lieutenant-colonel,  sent  his  officers  to  enlist 
the  immigrants  arriving  in  large  numbers  in  the  Sacra- 
mento valley.  On  the  29th  of  November,  Colonel 
Fremont  began  his  march  from  the  rendezvous,  San 
Juan  Bautlsta,  with  four  hundred  and  twenty-eight  men 
in  eight  companies  of  mounted  rifle-men  and  a  company 
artillery.     Before    he   got   off   there    occurred    a    sharp 

*  See  note  57. 


4i6       The  Beginnings  of  San  Francisco 

engagement  at  Natividad,  in  the  Salinas  valley,  between 
a  detachment  of  the  battalion  under  Captain  Burroughs 
and  a  party  of  Californians  under  Manuel  Castro,  in 
which  Burroughs  and  three  or  four  of  his  men  were  killed 
and  a  number  wounded.  The  loss  to  the  Californians, 
who  slightly  outnumbered  the  Americans,  was  three 
killed  and  four  wounded. 

Fremont  swept  the  country  of  horses — with  or  without 
the  consent  of  the  rancheros — and  he  promised  his  men 
twenty-five  dollars  a  month  pay.  One  company  was 
composed  of  Walla  Walla  and  California  Indians.  The 
artillery,  six  pieces,  was  commanded  by  Louis  McLain, 
passed  midshipman  of  the  Savannah.  This  officer  had 
served  as  lieutenant  of  Fauntleroy's  dragoons  and  his 
rank  in  the  battalion  was  that  of  captain.  Later  he  had 
the  rank  of  major  and  was  one  of  Fremont's  commissioners 
in  the  treaty  of  Cahaenga.  He  resigned  from  the  navy 
in  1850  and  returned  to  California.  He  was  for  many 
years  manager  of  Wells  Fargo  and  Company's  express 
and  was  the  first  president  of  the  Nevada  Bank,  serving 
from  1875  to  1882. 

The  heavy  rains  made  the  march  of  the  battalion 
slow  and  difficult.  The  route  was  up  the  San  Benito 
and  into  the  Salinas  valley,  up  which  they  marched, 
then  over  the  Cuesta  de  Santa  Lucia  to  San  Luis  Obispo 
where  they  arrived  December  14th.  In  the  Salinas  they 
captured  an  Indian  servant  of  Don  Jesus  Pico  whom 
they  shot  as  a  spy — a  concession  to  the  "feelings  of  the 
undisciplined  men."  Another  outrage  was  the  plunder 
and  destruction  of  Los  Ojitos,  whose  owner  had  two  sons 
with  the  California  army.*  At  San  Luis  Don  Jesus 
Pico  (called  Totoi  Pico)  was  arrested  for  breaking  his 
parole,  tried  by  court-martial,  condemned,  and  sentenced 

*  Mariano  Soberanes.  He  put  in  a  claim  before  the  commission  for  $19,930 
and  was  allowed  $423. 


Notes  417 

to  be  shot.  His  wife  with  her  fourteen  children  and  a 
number  of  women  of  San  Luis,  threw  themselves  at  the 
leader's  feet  and  begged  for  the  life  of  the  husband  and 
father.  Unable  to  withstand  their  tears  and  pleadings, 
to  which  were  added  the  solicitation  of  his  officers, 
Fremont  granted  a  pardon  to  Don  Jesus  and  made  a 
life-long  and  very  useful  friend. 

Santa  Barbara  was  reached  December  27th  and  after 
a  week's  rest  the  march  was  resumed  and  on  January 
nth  the  battalion  occupied  the  buildings  of  the  mission 
of  San  Fernando.  Fremont  had  proceeded  cautiously, 
having  received  exaggerated  accounts  of  the  number  of 
Californians  engaged  in  the  revolt,  and  his  respect  for 
them  had  been  increased  by  the  affairs  of  San  Pedro, 
Natividad,  and  San  Pascual. 

Advised  of  the  occupation  of  Los  Angeles  by  the 
Americans  Fremont  sent  Don  Jesus  Pico  to  the  camp  of 
the  Californians  at  Los  Verdugos,  just  north  of  the  pueblo, 
and  Don  Andres  Pico,  realizing  that  further  resistance 
was  useless  with  his  command  reduced  to  less  than  one 
hundred  men,  made  terms  with  the  conqueror  that 
protected  the  lives  and  property  of  his  men;  and  on 
January  13,  1847,  the  war  in  California  was  ended, 
som.ewhat  to  the  annoyance  of  that  other  conqueror. 
Commodore  Stockton,  who  was  put  out  to  find  that  his 
clever  young  protege  had  stepped  in  between  him  and 
his  final  triumph. 

The  controversy  that  arose  between  Kearny  and 
Fremont  is  told  in  the  note  on  the  military  governors.* 

On  the  19th  of  January  1847,  Stockton  turned  over 
to  Fremont  the  civil  command  and  on  the  twenty-second 
Fremont  proclaimed  order  and  peace  restored,  required 
the  release  of  all  prisoners,  and  ordered  civil  officers  to 

*Note  35. 


41 8       The  Beginnings  of  San  Francisco 

return  to  their  duties.  In  Los  Angeles  Fremont  was 
recognized  as  governor  and  was  able  to  borrow  money 
and  buy  cattle  for  government  use.  Into  his  financial 
transactions  I  will  not  go.  The  government,  after  many 
years,  paid  some  portion  of  the  claims  but  the  greater 
part,  so  far  as  I  know,  have  never  been  settled. 

On  March  i,  1847,  Kearny  issued  his  proclamation 
assuming  charge  of  California  as  civil  governor  and 
although  Fremont  continued  for  some  weeks  thereafter 
to  issue  orders  as  governor  he  was  soon  obliged  to  cease. 

On  March  23d  Major  William  H.  Russell,  sometime 
"secretary  of  state "  under  "Governor "  Fremont  departed 
for  Washington  with  dispatches  and,  it  is  said,  a  petition 
signed  by  Fremont's  friends  in  the  south  for  his  appoint- 
ment as  governor.  In  May  another  petition  was  cir- 
culated in  the  north  and  received  a  number  of  signatures; 
but  on  June  14th  a  public  meeting  was  held  in  San 
Francisco  to  protest  against  the  appointment,  his  Bear 
Flag  exploits  and  unpaid  accounts  of  the  California 
battalion  being  urged  against  him.  The  question  of 
payment  for  property  taken  by  the  officers  and  men  of 
the  California  battalion  and  by  various  irresponsible 
persons,  as  well  as  the  pay  of  the  volunteers,  was  a  burning 
one,  and  Colonel  Mason  and  Special  Agent  Larkin  urged 
the  payment  of  these  claims  as  a  means  of  reconciling 
the  Californians  to  the  change  of  flag;  but  it  was  not 
until  1853  that  any  part  of  these  claims  were  paid,  and 
a  large  number  of  them  were  never  paid  at  all. 

In  his  memoirs,  in  his  letters  to  Benton,  in  his  defence 
before  the  court-martial,  in  his  testimony  before  the 
claims  commission,  and  in  the  numerous  statements 
of  his  admirers,  Fremont's  claim  to  fame  as  the  hero  of 
California  is  maintained  on  the  following  points:  By 
his  action  in  June  1846  he  saved  the  lives  and  property 
of  the  American  settlers  in  California;  by  his  acts  and 


Notes  419 

those  of  his  fellow  filibusters  of  the  Bear  Flag  he  pre- 
vented the  acquisition  of  California  by  England  through 
the  McNamara  grant  and  plan  of  colonization,  and  also 
ended  the  disposal  of  public  land,  it  being  the  evident 
intent  of  the  Mexican  governor  to  place  all  the  land 
in  private  ownership  so  that  when  the  Americans  came 
in  there  would  be  no  land  obtainable  and  finally  by 
forcing  prompt  action  on  the  part  of  the  United  States 
by  means  of  the  settler's  revolt  he  prevented  the  English 
admiral  from  anticipating  Commodore  Sloat's  action 
and  raising  the  English  flag. 

In  regard  to  the  first  plea:  that  of  protection  to  the 
settlers  from  annihilation  at  the  hands  of  a  blood-thirsty 
Mexican — the  statements  are  false  in  every  particular. 
Captain  Fremont  in  his  letter  to  Senator  Benton,  before 
referred  to,  says:  "I  had  scarcely  reached  the  lower 
Sacramento  (on  his  return  from  Klamath)  when  General 
Castro,  then  in  the  north — at  Sonoma,  in  the  department 
of  Sonoma,  north  of  the  bay  of  San  Francisco,  commanded 
by  General  Vallejo — declared  his  determination  immedi- 
ately to  proceed  against  the  foreigners  settled  in  the  coun- 
try, for  whose  expulsion  an  order  had  just  been  issued  by 
the  governor  of  the  Californias.  For  these  purposes 
Castro  immediately  assembled  a  force  at  the  Mission 
of  Santa  Clara,  a  strong  place,  on  the  northern  shore 
of  the  Francisco  bay.  *  *  *  Castro's  first  measure  was 
an  attempt  to  incite  the  Indian  population  of  the  Joaquin 
and  Sacramento  valleys,  and  the  neighboring  mountains, 
to  burn  the  crops  of  the  foreigners  and  otherwise  proceed 
immediately  against  them."  Semple  says  in  Californian 
May  23,  1847:  "In  this  state  of  things.  General  Castro 
issued  one  proclamation  after  another,  ordering  foreigners 
to  leave  the  country."  As  a  matter  of  fact,  General 
Castro  issued  no  such  proclamation;  he  made  no  threats  of 
driving  the  Americans  from  the  country;  he  did  not  incite 


420       The  Beginnings  of  San  Francisco 

the  Indians  to  burn  the  crops;  he  was  not  marching 
against  the  settlers  with  an  army,  and  he  had  no  force 
whatever  north  of  the  bay  of  San  Francisco.  The 
Americans  of  the  Sacramento  had  nothing  to  fear  from 
the  Californlans,  and  according  to  Bidwell  this  was  as 
well  known  to  the  settlers  as  it  was  to  Fremont;  and  the 
plea  that  the  rising  was  a  matter  of  self-defence,  as  he 
testified  at  the  court-martial,  had  been  abandoned  and 
forgotten  by  General  Fremont  himself  when  he  was 
consulted  by  Josiah  Royce  in  1884.* 

In  regard  to  the  McNamara  grant,  Fremont  testified: 
"The  movement  (Bear  Flag)  prevented  the  design  of 
the  Californlans  to  place  their  country  under  British 
protection,  and  it  also  prevented  the  completion  of  the 
colonization  grant  of  three  thousand  square  leagues  to 
McNamara,  who  was  brought  to  California  in  the  British 
sloop-of-war  Juno  in  June  1846."! 

The  claims  commission  gave  particular  attention  to 
this  McNamara  matter  and  all  the  witnesses  were  ques- 
tioned concerning  the  effect  of  the  Bear  Flag  rising  on 
that  scheme  for  bringing  California  under  British  influence. 
Hensley,  Owens,  and  others  testified  that  the  settlers' 
rising  put  an  end  to  it.  The  fact  is  that  NcMamara 
made  his  application  to  Pico,  July  l,  1846,  seventeen 
days  after  the  capture  of  Sonoma;  it  was  considered 
by  the  assembly  on  the  sixth  and  sent  back  to  the  governor 
on  the  seventh  of  July  with  recommendation  that  the 
grant  be  made  under  certain  conditions.  It  was  un- 
doubtedly the  action  of  the  Bear  Flag  party  in  June  that 
caused  the  governor  and  departmental  assembly  to  attempt 
to  push  the  matter  forward  so  rapidly.  It  was  beyond 
the  power  of  the  departmental  authorities  to  make  any 


*  Royce:    California,  122. 

tiO/A  Cong.  1st.  Ses.  Senate  Rep.  75.     12-13. 


Notes  421 

grant  exceeding  eleven  square  leagues,  and  the  McNamara 
grant,  after  the  action  of  the  governor  and  assembly, 
would  have  to  go  to  the  supreme  government  at  Mexico 
for  approval.  Sloat's  occupation  on  July  yth,  therefore, 
put  an  end  to  the  scheme.  This  pretext  on  the  part 
of  Fremont  and  his  fellow  filibusters  was  an  afterthought. 
The  legend  concerning  the  rivalry  between  the  American 
and  the  English  naval  commanders  as  to  which  should 
out-manoeuver  the  other  and  be  first  to  raise  the  flag  in 
California  has  ever  been  a  great  favorite  with  writers, 
and  was  brought  before  the  claims  commission  to  enhance 
the  importance  of  Fremont  and  his  Bear  Flag  allies. 
The  inference  of  the  various  accounts  is  that  Sloat, 
getting  news  of  the  outbreak  of  hostilities,  outwitted  his 
rival  and  reached  Monterey  first.  Walter  Colton  in 
referring  to  the  story  says:  *'It  has  been  often  stated 
by  American  writers  that  the  admiral  intended  to  raise 
the  English  flag  in  California  and  would  have  done  it 
had  we  not  stolen  the  march  on  him.  I  believe  nothing 
of  the  kind;  the  allegation  is  a  mere  assumption,  un- 
warranted by  a  solitary  fact.  He  had  no  such  instructions 
from  the  British  ministry."*  Josiah  Royce,  in  an  article 
in  the  Century,  prints  a  letter  from  Lord  Alcester,  who, 
as  Lieutenant  Seymour,  was  flag  lieutenant  to  his  uncle, 
Sir  George  Seymour,  on  board  the  CoUingwood,  in  which 
he  says  that  the  admiral  had  no  intention  of  raising  the 
flag  in  California.!  That  the  English  in  California  were 
active  in  trying  to  interest  the  English  government  in 
the  acquisition  of  California  we  know,  but  we  also  know 
that  their  appeals  were  unheeded;  and  if  it  was  the  design 
of  the  British  ministry  to  intervene  in  California,  Fre- 
mont's course  was  calculated  to  accomplish  that  very 


*  Colton:    Dick  and  Port,  393. 
t  Century  Magazine,  xviii,  779. 


422       The  Beginnings  of  San  Francisco 

result  by  provoking  the  California  authorities  to  ask 
for  British  protection.* 

Realizing  the  weakness  of  Mexico's  hold  on  California 
the  foreigners  settled  in  the  country  had  for  some  time 
looked  for  a  change  in  the  government.  Larkin,  as  United 
States  consul,  had  kept  the  government  fully  advised. 
The  British  government  had  for  some  years  been  interested 
in  the  affairs  of  Alta  California  and  it  was  thought  that 
the  leading  men  among  the  Californians  would  be  glad 
to  declare  the  independence  of  California  and  put  the 
country  under  the  protection  of  England.  The  admin- 
istration of  James  K.  Polk  came  in  with  the  full  deter- 
mination to  acquire  possession  of  California,  and  in  less 
than  seven  and  a  half  months  from  the  president's 
inauguration  the  secret  dispatch  to  Larkin  was  sent. 
The  active  and  efficient  consul  took  immediate  steps 
to  carry  out  the  wishes  of  his  government  which  were 
in  direct  line  with  the  work  he  was  already  doing  and  for 
which  he  was  well  qualified  through  his  standing  with  the 
best  people  and  his  cautious  and  conservative  nature. 

Had  there  been  no  interference  with  Larkin's  plans 
it  is  altogether  probable  that  his  influence  and  that  of 
other  prominent  men,  together  with  the  general  desire 
of  those  who  had  permanent  interests  in  the  country, 
would  have  prevailed,  and  California  would  have  accepted 
a  change  of  flag  without  protest.  The  special  agent 
had  secured  the  assurance  of  General  Castro  that  he 
would  favor  independence  from  Mexico  in  1847  or  1848, 
and  from  his  knowledge,  acquired  in  twelve  years'  dealing 
with  Californians,  he  put  implicit  faith  in  their  promises. 
But  Larkin's  intrigue,  progressing  as  he  thought  to  a 
successful  issue,  was  rudely  interrupted  by  the  rising 
of  foreigners,  most  of  whom,  he  says,  were  unknown 
in  the  settlements. 

*  See  Prof.  E.  D.  Adams  in  American  Historical  Review,  xiv.,  No.  4,  July,  1909. 


Notes  423 

That  the  Bear  Flag  rising  was  no  part  of  the  scheme 
of  the  United  States  government  for  the  acquisition  of 
California  is  clear.  Why  then,  should  this  officer  of  the 
United  States  army,  in  disobedience  of  orders,  secretly 
and  by  circulation  of  false  rumors  of  impending  massacre 
and  destruction,  instigate  a  revolt  and  incite  those  rough 
borderers  to  acts  of  violence  against  those  with  whom 
it  was  his  duty  to  cultivate  friendly  relations?  His 
course  shows  that  he  deeply  resented  the  humiliation 
put  on  him  by  Castro  in  forcing  a  retreat  from  Gavilan 
peak,  and  he  was  also  informed  by  Gillespie  that  the 
officers  of  the  squadron  made  unfavorable  comments 
on  his  conduct.  Besides,  he  knew  from  Benton,  who 
was  in  the  confidence  of  the  administration,  the  designs 
of  the  government  regarding  California  and  his  ambition 
prompted  him  to  improve  the  situation  unscrupulously 
for  his  own  advancement.  His  whole  conduct  after 
reaching  California  showed  his  desire  to  provoke  a  fight.* 
There  was  absolutely  no  excuse  for  the  Bear  Flag  rising. 
"The  valley,"  says  John  Bidwell,  "was  peace  and  qulet» 
No  settler,  the  truth  of  history  compels  me  to  say  it, 
had  any  apprehension  of  danger."! 

*  Benton,  in  the  letter  to  the  president  before  alluded  to,  says:  "I  hope 
the  information  I  am  able  to  give,  though  all  of  a  private  character,  written 
solely  for  the  information  of  friends  and  never  expected  to  go  before  the  public  (!) 
may  be  sufficient  to  relieve  present  anxieties,  to  disprove  the  accusations 
of  Governor  Castro,  and  to  justify  the  operations  of  Captain  Fremont.  I 
make  this  communication  to  you,  sir,  upon  the  responsibility  of  an  American 
senator  addressing  the  president  of  the  United  States,  and  with  the  sole  view 
of  vindicating  the  American  government  and  its  officer  from  the  foul  imputation 
of  exciting  insurrection  in  the  provinces  of  a  neighboring  power  with  whom 
we  were  then  at  peace.  I  could  add  much  more  to  prove  that  Captain  Fre- 
mont's private  views  and  feelings  were  in  unison  with  his  ostensible  mission^ 
that  the  passion  of  his  soul  was  the  pursuit  of  science  and  that  he  looked  with 
dread  and  aversion  upon  ever>-  possible  collision  either  with  the  Indians, 
Mexicans,  or  British,  that  could  turn  him  aside  from  that  cherished  pursuit." 

t  Bidwell  to  Willey,  in  Royce^s  California,  99-101. 


424       The  Beginnings  of  San  Francisco 

Canada  reveres  the  memory  of  the  heroes  of  the  Long 
Sault — the    seventeen    young    Frenchmen    who    devoted 
themselves  to  death,  stayed  the  Iroquois'  invasion  and 
saved  their  country  from  destruction.     Our  children  are 
being  taught  to  revere  the  memory  of  the  heroes  of  the 
Bear  Flag;  the  men  who  brought  war  into  a  peaceful 
community  and  to  a  people  from  whom  they  had  received 
nothing  but  kindness  and  hospitality;  a  war,  unjust  and 
unnecessary,  that  left  behind  it  a  heritage  of  bitterness 
and   hate  that  sixty  years  of  peace  have   not   entirely 
eradicated.     And  the  young  hero?     He  had  a  powerful 
protector   in   the   person   of   his   father-in-law,   and   the 
Mexican  war  came  in  time  to  save  him  from  the  conse- 
quences  of   his   disobedience.     His   letter   of   July    25th 
showed   clearly   how   grossly  outraged   and   insulted   he 
had  been  by  Castro  in  March  and  how  necessary  had  been 
the  subsequent  operations  in  the  Sacramento  and  Sonoma 
valleys  for  the  protection  of  the  lives  of  his  party  and 
of  the  American  settlers.     The  cabinet  of  Mr.  Polk  could 
not  be  expected  to  confess  their  intrigue  for  the  peaceful 
possession  of  California  and  Fremont's  statement  became 
history.     He  was  raised  to  the  rank  of  lieutenant-colonel 
in  the  United  States  army  and  was  made  governor  of 
California  by  Stockton.     He  established  his  headquarters 
in  Los  Angeles,  in  the  house  of  Alexander  Bell,  the  largest 
house  in  town,  and  kept  an  armed  sentry  at  his  door 
night  and  day.     So  set  up  was  he  with  the  pride,  pomp, 
and  circumstance  of  glorious  war  that  he  defied  the  au- 
thority  of   his   superior  officer   and   got   himself   court- 
martialed.     Here  again  did  fortune  stand  by  her  favorite, 
for   though   condemned   by   the   court,   he  was   made   a 
martyr  and  the  president  of  the  United  States  remitted 
the  penalty  on  account  of  the  previous  services  of  the 
accused.     Fremont  was   defended   by  his   father-in-law, 
who,  being  allowed  free  range  by  the  court,  insisted  on 


Notes  425 

trying  Kearny  for  his  alleged  misdeeds  in  California 
and  for  his  persecution  of  Fremont.  "After  the  con- 
spiracy of  Cataline,"  said  the  venerable  senator,  "Cicero 
had  a  theme  for  his  life;  since  this  conspiracy  against 
Fremont,  and  these  rewards  and  honors  lavished  upon 
all  that  plotted  against  his  life  and  character,  I  also  have 
a  theme  for  my  life.  "* 

Fremont's  entire  statement  before  the  court-martial 
regarding  the  conquest  of  California  rings  false  and  is 
calculated  to  and  did  create  an  erroneous  impression 
concerning  that  historic  event.  "The  defile  of  San 
Fernando  was  also  passed,"  says  the  lieutenant-colonel, 
"a  corps  which  occupied  it  falling  back  as  the  rifles 
advanced.  We  entered  the  plain  of  Cowenga,  (San 
Fernando  valley)  occupied  by  the  enemy  in  considerable 
force,  and  I  sent  a  summons  to  them  to  lay  down  their 
arms  or  fight  at  once.  The  chiefs  desired  a  parley  with 
me  in  person.  I  went  alone  to  see  them  (Don  Jesus  Pico 
only  being  with  me) .  They  were  willing  to  capitulate  with 
me;  the  terms  were  agreed  upon.  Commissioners  were 
sent  out  on  both  sides  to  put  it  into  form.  It  received 
the  sanction  of  the  governor  and  commander-in-chief, 
Commodore  Stockton.  It  was  the  capitulation  of  Co- 
wenga. It  put  an  end  to  the  war  and  to  the  feelings 
of  war.  "t 

Napoleonic  sentences  these;  but  what  were  the  facts .^ 
The  Californians  had  less  than  one  hundred  men  under 
arms.  The  plain  of  Cowenga  was  "occupied  by  the 
enemy  in  considerable  force. "  Impossible !  the  enemy  had 
no  force.  The  leaders  were  at  the  rancho  of  the  Verdugos 
in   consultation    as   to   the   best   course   to   be   pursued. 

*  soth  Congress  ist  Session:  Congressional  Globe,  J847-8.  Appendix. 
Benton's  speech  in  the  United  States  Senate  on  promotion  of  General 
Kearny. 

t  30tk  Congress  ist.  Session,  Senate  Doc.  j  j,  379. 


426       The  Beginnings  of  San  Francisco 

There  was  no  thought  of  further  resistance.  All  that 
could  now  be  done  was  to  secure  the  best  terms  possible. 
Flores  had  turned  over  the  command  to  Andres  Pico 
and  was  on  his  way  to  Mexico.  Don  Jesus  Pico  appeared 
with  Fremont's  summons.  Don  Andres  thought  they 
could  obtain  better  terms  from  Fremont  than  from 
Stockton  who  had  exhibited  great  arrogance  towards 
them.  He  dictated  the  terms  which  were  readily  agreed 
to  by  Fremont,  The  statement  that  they  received  the 
sanction  of  Commodore  Stockton  is  correct,  but  they 
were  not  submitted  to  him  until  the  peace  was  signed 
and  the  Californians  had  departed  for  their  homes. 
The  taking  upon  himself  of  terms  of  surrender  when 
his  commanding  officer  was  within  an  hour's  ride  was  a 
remarkable  exhibition  of  nerve  on  the  part  of  the  young 
Napoleon,* 

Fremont  declined  the  president's  clemency  and  resigned 
his  commission.  He  organized  a  fourth  expedition  in 
1848  and  lost  a  number  of  his  men  in  the  mountains. 
In  1850  the  California  legislature  elected  him  United 
States  senator  for  the  short  term,  and  in  1856  he  became 
the  candidate  of  the  newly  formed  Republican  party 
for  the  presidency.  The  managers  of  the  party  wanted 
a  candidate  who  was  not  identified  with  the  bitter  war 
between  the  Whigs  and  Free-Soil  men,  Fremont  had 
the  peculiar  advantage  of  having  no  political  record  to 
contend  with,  and  it  was  thought  that  his  nomination 
would  insure  at  least  the  neutrality  if  not  the  active 
support  of  Thomas  H,  Benton  and  his  friends  in  the  west. 
The  stories  of  his  romantic  conquest  of  California  materi- 


*  "The  Californians  met  Colonel  Fremont  on  the  12th  instant  on  his  way 
here,  who,  not  knowing  what  had  occured,  entered  into  capitulation  with  them. 
*  *  *  I  have  thought  it  best  to  approve  it."  Stockton  to  Bancroft,  joth 
Cong.  1st  Ses.  Doc.  i.  Fremont  was  advised  by  Kearny  that  they  were  in  pos- 
session of  Los  Angeles, 


Notes  427 

ally  strengthened  his  candidacy  and  much  was  said 
concerning  his  immense  wealth,  for  had  he  not  refused 
two  million  dollars  for  the  Mariposa  rancho?  At  least 
that  was  one  of  the  many  fables  concerning  him  that 
went  uncontradicted.  So  men  like  Summer,  Wilson, 
and  Chase  were  passed  by  and  the  conqueror  of  California 
received  the  prize.  Great  things  were  expected  of 
California,  but  the  people  did  not  grow  enthusiastic  over 
the  nomination  of  Fremont.  The  years  that  had  passed 
had  dimmed  the  glory  which,  like  an  aureola,  had  sur- 
rounded the  figure  of  the  young  explorer.  No  longer 
did  the  heroes  of  the  Bear  Flag  stir  their  imaginations. 
They  heard  more  about  beef  contracts,  and  unexplained 
financial  transactions  in  which  names  of  more  or  less 
unsavory  repute  figured,  or  bogus  ore  shipments  from  the 
Mariposa  claim  and  all  the  disagreeable  things  that  are 
raked  up  or  invented  for  such  occasions;  and  when  the 
vote  of  California  was  counted  it  was  found  that  Fremont 
had  twenty  thousand;  Fillmore,  thirty-six  thousand;  and 
Buchanan,  fifty-three  thousand. 

In  these  latter  days,  however,  the  Fremont  legend  has 
acquired  new  life  and  is  taking  on  the  force  and  mystery 
of  a  northland  myth.  The  unpleasant  facts  of  history 
are  pushed  aside  and  forgotten.  We  see  only  the  pictur- 
esque figure  of  the  hero  of  romance  and  we  hail  him  as 
pathfinder,  explorer,  conqueror.  We  give  his  name  to 
our  streets,  and  cities,  and  towns,  and  hold  festivals  in 
his  honor.  We  dedicate  schoolhouses  to  him  and  teach 
our  children  to  look  upon  him  with  something  of  that 
reverence  they  feel  for  the  founders  of  the  republic.  This 
is  wrong.  The  people  should  be  taught  the  truth. 
John  C.  Fremont  is  not  the  hero  of  California.  The 
liberal  quotations  from  original  documents  in  this  article 
will  show  how  events  have  been  misrepresented  in  order 
to  build  up  an  unmerited  reputation. 


428       The  Beginnings  of  San  Francisco 

Note  32 

THE  REVOLT  OF  THE  CALIFORNIANS  AND  THE 

AFFAIR  AT  SAN  PEDRO 

On  the  last  day  of  August  1846  Commodore  Stockton 
appointed  Captain  Gillespie  of  the  California  battalion 
commandant  of  the  southern  military  department,  with 
headquarters  at  Los  Angeles,  and  sailed  for  the  north 
three  days  later.  Gillespie  was  instructed  to  maintain 
martial  law  but  to  administer  it  with  leniency.  He  was 
a  brave  and  gallant  officer,  but  he  despised  the  Californians 
and  was  not  the  man  to  conciliate  a  proud  and  humiliated 
people  and  change  them  into  friendly  and  willing  citizens 
of  the  United  States.  He  cared  as  little  for  the  carefully 
drawn  instructions  of  the  home  government  as  did  his 
chief,  Fremont,  and  he  laid  down  very  strict  rules  and 
regulations  to  be  observed,  the  Californians  thought, 
for  the  purpose  of  humiliating  them.  Los  Angeles  was 
ever  the  hotbed  of  a  turbulent,  lawless,  and  uncontrol- 
lable element,  and  it  was  not  long  before  there  was  an 
outbreak.  A  few  drunken  vagabonds  headed  by  one 
Cerbula  Varela  created  a  riot  and  fired  on  the  barracks 
garrisoned  by  Gillespie  and  his  men.  The  commander 
considered  the  affair  an  attempt  at  general  insurrection 
and  arrested  several  Mexican  officers  who  had  given  their 
parole  and  were  quietly  living  with  their  families.  Many 
other  prominent  citizens,  fearing  arrest,  fled  to  the  ranchos 
and  prepared  to  defend  themselves.  They  had  no 
sympathy  with  Varela  and  his  crew,  but  considered  the 
arrest  of  the  officers  a  breach  of  faith,  and  the  affair, 
which,  properly  handled  by  Gillespie,  would  have  ended 
with  those  who  began  it,  ripened  into  a  general  revolt. 
A  force  of  three  hundred  men  gathered  in  camp  outside 


Notes  429 

of  the  pueblo,  issued  a  proclamation  and  summoned 
Gillespie  to  surrender.  They  had  but  a  few  flint-lock 
muskets,  escopetas  (shot-guns),  and  lances,  but  no  powder. 
John  Temple's  wife  (a  daughter  of  Francisco  Cota)  sent 
them  two  kegs  of  powder  from  her  husband's  store  in 
Los  Angeles  and  they  sent  out  on  the  Colorado  desert 
and  got  saltpetre  and  sulphur  and  made  powder  for 
themselves  at  the  mission  of  San  Gabriel.  It  was  poor 
stuff,  would  throw  a  ball  only  five  hundred  yards,  and 
when  used  in  a  flint-lock  musket  would  flash  in  their 
faces.  The  first  engagement  of  the  war  was  the  siege  by 
fifty  Californians  under  Varela  of  Chino  rancho,  where 
Don  Benito  Wilson  with  a  party  of  twenty  foreigners 
were  in  garrison.  After  an  exchange  of  shots,  during 
which  one  man  was  killed  and  several  wounded,  the 
Americans  surrendered  and  were  turned  over  to  Jose 
Maria  Flores  who  had  been  made  commander-in-chief. 
The  Californians  now  invested  Los  Angeles  and  called 
on  Gillespie  to  surrender,  offering  to  permit  the  garrison 
to  march  unmolested  to  San  Pedro.  Gillespie,  who 
had  sent  a  messenger  to  Stockton  for  relief,  found  his 
position  untenable  and  accepted  the  terms.  He  marched 
out  with  his  colors  flying  and  drums  beating  and  embarked 
on  the  merchant  ship  Vandalia  at  San  Pedro.  Santa 
Barbara  was  taken,  Talbot  and  his  nine  men  fleeing  to 
the  mountains  whence  they  made  their  way  to  Monterey. 
On  October  6th  the  Savannah  sent  by  Stockton,  reached 
San  Pedro  and  the  commander.  Captain  William  Mervine, 
landed  three  hundred  and  fifty  men  and  joined  by  Gillespie 
and  his  men  from  the  Vandalia  marched  on  the  morning 
of  the  seventh  for  Los  Angeles  with  a  force  of  four  hundred 
men.  He  could  obtain  no  horses  and  took  no  cannon 
from  the  ships.  Remembering  the  promenade  of  Stock- 
ton with  the  men  of  the  Congress  the  previous  August, 
Mervine  anticipated  no  trouble,  though  he  took  all  the 


430       The  Beginnings  of  San  Francisco 

precautions  of  a  good  commander.  Flores  sent  Jose 
Antonio  Carrillo  with  fifty  horsemen  to  observe  the 
movements  of  the  Americans,  and  in  the  afternoon  shots 
were  exchanged  between  Carrillo's  men  and  Mervine's 
skirmishers.  At  night  the  Americans  occupied  the 
buildings  of  the  Dominguez  rancho  (San  Pedro),  below 
Los  Angeles,  and  Carrillo  received  a  reinforcement  of 
forty  men  and  an  old  four-pounder  mounted  on  a  pair 
of  wagon  wheels.  There  was  more  or  less  firing  during 
the  night  by  Carrillo,  whose  orders  were  to  harass  and 
delay  the  enemy  but  risk  no  general  engagement.  Early 
on  the  morning  of  the  eighth  the  Americans  resumed  the 
advance,  the  marines  and  sailors  marching  in  a  solid  square 
with  Gillespie's  men  thrown  out  on  either  side  as  skirmish- 
ers. Soon  they  came  upon  the  Californians  drawn  up 
in  line  of  battle,  waiting  to  receive  them.  In  Carrillo's 
center  was  the  gun  in  charge  of  ten  men  while  forty 
horsemen  were  deployed  on  either  flank.  As  the  Ameri- 
cans came  within  range  the  gun  was  discharged  and 
immediately  dragged  away  by  the  reatas  of  the  horsemen. 
At  a  safe  distance  it  was  reloaded  and  again  brought 
into  action.  This  operation  was  repeated  several  times 
with  a  loss  to  Mervine's  force  of  six  killed  and  six  wounded. 
That  the  casualties  were  not  greater  is  due  to  the  poor 
quality  of  the  home-made  powder.  Mervine,  realizing 
the  futility  of  attempting  the  pursuit  of  cavalry  and  flying 
artillery  by  seamen  on  foot,  retreated,  and  his  men 
exhausted  by  the  heat  and  fatigue  returned  to  their 
ships  carrying  their  dead  and  wounded.  Carrillo  had 
fired  his  last  charge  of  powder,  but  Mervine  did  not  know 
that.  The  dead  were  buried  on  an  island  in  San  Pedro 
harbor,  called  Dead  Man's  island.* 


*  Dana  says:  "It  was  so  named  because  of  the  burial  there  of  an  English- 
man, commander  of  a  small  merchant  brig,  who  was  supposed  to  have  been 
poisoned.     Two  Years  Bejore  the  Mast. 


Notes  43 1 

Jose  Antonio  Carrillo,  whose  name  has  frequently 
appeared  in  this  narrative,  was  the  fourth  son  of  Jose  Rai- 
mundo  Carrillo,  soldier  of  the  Portola  expedition.  He 
was  born  in  San  Francisco  April  11,  1796,  and  baptized 
Jose  Antonio  Ezequiel.  He  became  alcalde  of  Los 
Angeles,  member  of  the  diputacion,  elector,  member  of 
(Mexican)  congress,  lieutenant-colonel  of  militia,  coman- 
dante  de  escuadron,  etc.,  and  signed  the  peace  of  Cahuenga 
as  Mexican  commissioner.  In  1849  he  was  member  of 
the  constitutional  convention.  He  was  a  man  of  remark- 
able natural  ability  with  a  great  taste  for  politics  and 
intrigue.  Hospitable  and  generous  he  would  go  far  to 
oblige  a  friend  or  discomfit  an  enemy,  and  though  easily 
placated,  he  was  prone  to  sharp  and  cutting  remarks. 
Foster  relates  that  at  a  ball  in  Los  Angeles  Carrillo 
remarked  of  an  officer  of  the  Mormon  battalion  who  was 
laboring  through  a  dance  with  one  of  the  California  ladies, 
that  the  lieutenant  danced  like  a  bear.  This  being  re- 
peated made  the  Mormons  very  angry,  and  claiming 
they  were  insulted  they  stirred  up  a  good  deal  of  feeling 
over  the  matter.  Colonel  Stevenson  wishing  to  pour 
oil  on  the  troubled  waters  sent  Foster  to  ask  Carrillo 
to  withdraw  the  remark.  Carrillo  received  Foster  with 
the  greatest  cordiality  and  in  the  most  courteous  manner. 
Foster  explained  and  Carrillo  at  once  announced  his 
readiness  to  withdraw  the  obnoxious  remark,  adding 
with  the  most  winning  grace  that  the  bear  was  a  paisano 
(countryman)  of  his  and  great  injustice  had  been  done 
him  in  regard  to  his  dancing.  This  was  the  best  Foster 
could  do  and  Colonel  Stevenson  arranged  a  meeting  of 
Mormons  and  Californians  to  reconcile  matters  and 
promote  good  feeling.  The  meeting  was  held  at  the 
house  of  a  prominent  citizen  who  in  the  most  hospitable 
manner  received  all  that  came,  setting  before  them 
whisky,  brandy,  and  native  wines,  and  some  of  the  early 


432       The  Beginnings  of  San  Francisco 

comers  imbibed  very  freely.  The  company  was  so  great 
that  they  adjourned  to  the  yard.  Stevenson  stated  the 
matter  and  then  gave  Carrillo  the  chance  to  explain  his 
remark.  Carrillo  began  in  a  dignified  manner  but  had 
uttered  only  a  half  dozen  words  when  Captain  Hunt* 
of  the  battalion,  who  had  seven  or  eight  stiff  drinks  under 
his  belt,  interrupted  him  and  in  a  violent  speech  began 
a  recital  of  the  wrongs  of  the  Mormons  from  the  time 
of  their  being  driven  from  Kirtland,  Ohio,  to  their  arrival 
at  Council  Bluffs;  and  how,  in  spite  of  it  all,  they  had 
raised  a  battalion  of  five  hundred  men  for  the  service 
of  the  United  States  and  had  marched  two  thousand 
miles,  ill-clad  and  on  half  rations,  and  after  all  that  an 
unregenerate  Mexican  with  the  blood  of  the  Americans 
still  red  upon  his  hands  dared  to  ridicule  one  of  the  officers 
because  he  could  not  dance.  Then  raising  his  arms 
aloft  Hunt  shouted:  "By  the  sword  of  the  Lord  and  of 
Gideon  I  am  for  free  trade  and  sailors'  rights."  At  this 
an  old  sea  dog  of  a  ship-master  who  had  been  left  inside 
with  the  bottles  came  to  the  door,  and  in  his  anxiety  to 
drink  to  sailors'  rights  lost  his  balance  and  rolling  down 
the  steps  came  charging  among  them  like  a  cannon  ball. 
In  the  confusion  which  followed  Carrillo  walked  quietly 
to  where  his  horse  was  tied,  saying  to  Foster  as  he  passed, 
"Sus  paisanos  son  un  atajo  de  pendejos  borrachos" 
(His  countrymen  are  a  pack  of  drunken  cowards),  mounted 
and  rode  away,  much  to  the  relief  of  Foster  who  feared 
that  his  apology  would  be  worse  than  his  original  oflFense.f 

*  Jefferson  Hunt.  He  went  to  Salt  Lake  with  the  battalion,  but  returned 
to  California  later  with  the  San  Bernardino  colony,  and  represented  San 
Bernardino  in  the  legislature  in  1855.  In  1856  he  was  made  brigadier  general 
of  the  First  brigade,  First  division,  California  militia. 

t  Foster:     Angeles  from  '47  to  '49  MS.  36. 


Notes  433 

In  person  Don  Jose  Antonio  was  tall  and  handsome, 
had  a  most  urbane  and  courteous  manner,  and  no  man 
had  greater  power  in  winning  friends.  In  his  private 
affairs  he  was  indolent  and  careless,  like  so  many  of  his 
class,  and  never  bothered  himself  about  where  the  means 
were  to  come  from,  so  that  they  came.  In  1844  he  was 
grantee,  with  his  brother  Carlos  Antonio,  of  Santa  Rosa 
island.  He  died  in  Sauta  Barbara  in  1862.  His  first 
wife  was  Estefana  Pico  and  the  second,  Jacinta  Pico,  both 
sisters  of  Don  Pio. 


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